Half-Past TwoBY U. A. FANTHORPE

Objectives

Literary Terms – compound words, caesura, enjambment

Introduction - U. A. Fanthorpe

“Half-Past Two” – summary

“Half-Past Two” – themes

“Half-Past Two”– analysis of writer’s craft: language

“Half-Past Two”– analysis of writer’s craft: voice

“Half-Past Two”– analysis of writer’s craft: structure

“Half-Past Two”– analysis of writer’s craft: imagery

Conclusion – links to other poems

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Watch out for the following literary techniques as we

read the poem.

Literary Terms

Compound words - a word composed of two or more words. e.g. ‘gettinguptime’.

Caesura - Caesura is a grammatical pause or break in a line of poetry (like a question mark or full stop), usually near the middle of the line. A caesura is usually dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm. e.g. ‘He knew a lot of time: he knew...’

Enjambment – Enjambment or run-on lines usually do not have a punctuation mark at the end. It is a running on of a thought from one line to another without final punctuation. e.g. ‘(Being cross, she’d forgotten / She hadn’t taught him Time.’

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U A Fanthorpe (1929 - 2009)

Ursula Askham Fanthorpe spent her earliest years in Kent. She attended St Anne's College Oxford afterwards becoming a teacher and ultimately Head of English at Cheltenham Ladies' College. However, she only began writing when she turned her back on her teaching career to become a receptionist at a psychiatric hospital.

Talking of her war-time childhood Fanthorpe said, "I think it's important not to run away" and on the surface her poetry seems to encapsulate those traditional English values we associate with the period.

She regarded a poem "as a conversation between the poet and the reader" and this is evident in her characterful and engaging delivery. Many of the poems are for two or more voices.

Taken from - http://www.poetryarchive.org/poet/u-fanthorpe#sthash.ieNUaQUA.dpuf

Read the poem

Summary

What is the poem about?

- SUMMARIZE the poem in bullet points with your partner

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Themes – what do we learn about them

Memory – an adult nostalgically remembering the past and a child learning to remember important things.

Childhood – the control of adults and the lack of knowledge you have.

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Themes – what do we learn about them

Relationships – the complex relationship between the child and the teacher or person in authority who is not part of your family.

Growing up – learning about the world and coping with the confusion of adult or scary issues and “grown-up” things like time.

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Language Find examples of the following techniques and their effect

Capital letters are used to emphasise the fear and confusion of the situation, the teacher and of time.

Personification shows us the imagination of the student.

Compound words show us the boy’s experience of the world and highlight the his childishness.

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Language Find examples of the following techniques and their effect

Repetition of words linked with time emphasise the loss and confusion he feels.

Hyperbole and onomatopoeia emphasise his childlike, innocent approach to the world.

Word choices, in particular verbs, start the action again and break the boy’s daydream.

Allusion to fairy-tales which helps to focus the reader’s attention on the child’s particular experience.

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Capital letters – ‘Something Very Wrong’ Personification – ‘Where time hides tick-less waiting to be

born.’ Compound words – ‘Timeformykisstime’ Repetition – ‘schooltime’ ‘into ever’ Hyperbole – ‘he’d escaped for ever’, onomatopoeia – ‘click’ Word choices – ‘scuttling’ and ‘slotted’ Allusion – ‘Once upon a …’

Language Possible examples

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Voice

Voice in poetry is made up of many different features including tone, diction and point-of-view.  Tone refers to the writer’s attitude toward the subject. A poet chooses voice or voices for a particular poem to engage the reader's interest or reveal his or her attitude toward the subject.

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Voice

The voice in the poem can be the voice of the poet, voice of an imaginary person, or voice of an object. The voice of the speaker can be lively, inspiring, engaging, emotional, and interesting. The personal voice is when the author is expressing his own thoughts or beliefs.  The reader often feels closer to the voice because the voice is based on personal experiences. “I” is often used to do this.

What is the voice in “Half Past Two” and how is it established? Let’s brainstorm our ideas.

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Structure

Written in free verse (no rhyme and rhythm) and consists of eleven three line stanzas. This lack of strict or rigid form helps to highlight the boy’s confusion and feelings of being lost in time. Caesura and enjambment also contribute to this but also to the pace of the poem. Both devices aid the nostalgia and the boy’s feelings of detachment from reality as one thought flows into another (enjambment) in a dazed way or end abruptly or are interrupted suddenly (caesura) in a panicked way.

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Structure

A narrative poem nostalgically describing a childhood memory through an omniscient persona, though one who seems to have been present at the event. The omniscient voice help add to the fairy-tale quality of the poem.

These structural features emphasise the fantastical and nostalgic nature of the poem.

The speaker seems to be the boy who has now grown up and is remembering or the teacher who is remembering this event. Either way, the adult’s comments are in brackets.

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Imagery

Fanthorpe uses various types of imagery. Here are a few types seen in the poem. With your partner, write down an example and the effect of each.

1. ORGANIC

2. VISUAL

3. OLFACTORY

4. AUDITORY

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Conclusion

This poem serves as a good introduction to the themes on your coursework project.

Good secondary poems to link it to are:

- Growing up

- Mid-Term Break

- Alone

Read through these poems and discuss with your partner what poem you might use and why.

They are all available in your folder.

Homework

- Complete questions 1 to 4 on the bottom of page 113.

- Pick the poem you will link to “Half Past Two”

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