“Glasgow 5 March 1971” By Edwin Morgan

With a ragged diamond of shattered plate-glass a young man and his girl are falling backwards into a shop-window. 5 The young man’s face is bristling with fragments of glass and the girl’s leg has caught on the broken window and spurts arterial blood 10 over her wet-look white coat. Their arms are starfished out braced for impact. Their faces show surprise, shock, and the beginning of pain. 15 The two youths who have pushed them are about to complete the operation reaching into the window to loot what they can smartly. Their faces show no expression. 20 It is a sharp clear night in Sauchiehall Street. In the background two drivers keep their eyes on the road.

The big picture This poem is one of the texts that you will be able to choose to write about in the Scottish Textpart of the exam. Over the next two weeks, we will be studying the poem in great detail in order to ensure that you have a very solid knowledge and understanding of it. We will be undertaking a number of textual analysis activities as well as developing our pace of work.

You will be able to demonstrate that you: Understand the poem, its ideas and main themes. Are able to analyse the different techniques used by the author in order to convey the ideas and themes. Are able to evaluate how effective the author has been by using these techniques in order to convey the ideas and themes.

The main literary and language techniques that we will be working on are: Tone. Word choice. Imagery. Onomatopoeia. Emotive language. Theme.

To be able to understand the features of an Instamatic poem. We are Learning... To be able to understand the features of an Instamatic poem.

Why is the poem “instamatic”? Edwin Morgan is the narrator/speaker of the poem and, one evening in March 1971, he witnesses a young couple being attacked in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. In the poem, he describes everything that he saw within the few seconds of the attack. His poem is like a photograph made from words. He freezes a dramatic moment in time and he gives us a detailed snapshot of what he saw.

To be able to understand the tone of the poem. We are learning... To be able to understand the tone of the poem.

What is tone? Tone is concerned with the attitude of the writer. If you could hear the writer saying the words he/she has written, what would his/her tone of voice be? Tone can help us work out what the writer thinks and feels about what he/she is writing about.

How would you describe the tone of the poem? Task How would you describe the tone of the poem?

The tone of the poem is very serious, formal and unemotional The tone of the poem is very serious, formal and unemotional. It sounds like a police report or a witness statement.

Task Write a short summary of what happens in the poem. You should write no more than 50 words. What happened? Who was involved? Where did the incident take place? Why did the incident happen? When did the incident take place?

We are learning... To be able to analyse and evaluate how Morgan uses word choice to make the opening lines very dramatic.

The first four lines of the poem immediately grab our attention and pull us into the moment: “With a ragged diamond of shattered plate glass a young man and his girl are falling backwards into a shop window.” Morgan uses word choice very effectively in order to make the beginning of the poem dramatic.

Writing about Word Choice All words have very particular meanings and effects. Writers do not choose words by accident- they choose words because of their effect and meaning.

You must be aware of the difference between the denotation and the connotation of a word. Denotation= the dictionary definition of a word. Connotation= all the secondary meanings associated with a word.

For example, The Denotation of the word “home”= the place where someone lives, eats and sleeps. The Connotations of the word “home”= a place of warmth, comfort, safety and security.

When writing about the author’s use of word choice, you must always Quote + Comment

Provide an example of word choice. Quote Provide an example of word choice. Comment State the connotations of the word. Explain why the word is effective and how it conveys the author’s ideas.

Back to the poem... “With a ragged diamond of shattered plate glass a young man and his girl are falling backwards into a shop window.” We are analysing and evaluating how Morgan uses word choice to make the first four lines of the poem dramatic and attention grabbing.

The broken glass from the shop window is described as being “shattered”. How does this example of word choice make the scene dramatic?

Example answer Quote “shattered” Comment 1. This has connotations of broken and destruction. 2. This emphasises that the young couple were pushed into the shop window with so much force, violence and power that the window was completely destroyed due to the impact of their bodies. We can imagine how painful and terrifying it must have been to be thrown into such a potentially dangerous and lethal piece of glass.

The impact of their bodies would have caused the window to be completely destroyed, causing thousands of shards of glass to be strewn everywhere, leaving a carpet of razor sharp blades for the young couple to collapse onto.

The victims of the attack are described as being “a young man and his girl”. What does this example of word choice suggest about the victims? Think about your answer to question 1. Explain how this makes the opening dramatic.

“young” This has connotations of vulnerable, fragile, purity, healthy, innocent, fun, freedom. This is effective because Morgan is emphasising the fact that the two victims are innocent, fragile and vulnerable due to their youth. They are unable to defend themselves. All of a sudden, the couple are viciously assaulted in an unprovoked attack which results in traumatising and potentially fatal injuries. The reader feels sympathy and pity towards them due to how young they are and the horror and agony that they are put through due to the attack.

“Diamond” This word also emphasises that the broken glass was extremely sharp and strong, meaning that it would easily have caused serious damage to the young couple as it ripped into their flesh.

task Choose two examples of word choice from lines 1-4 and write a detailed paragraph explaining how they help to create a dramatic opening to the poem.

Task Write a P.Q.E paragraph which explains how Morgan uses Word Choice to make the first four lines of the poem very dramatic. Your topic sentence has been written for you. Copy this down and then complete the paragraph. “Through his effective use of interesting word choice, Morgan is able to create a dramatic and attention grabbing opening to the poem.”

Task Write a P.Q.E paragraph which explains how Morgan uses Word Choice to add to the horror or drama. “Through his effective use of word choice, Morgan is able to develop the dramatic nature the poem. We see this later in the poem when he…”

We are learning... To be able to analyse and evaluate how Morgan makes the attack on the young couple seem violent. To able to analyse and evaluate imagery.

In lines 5-14 of the poem, Morgan describes the attack on the couple in vivid detail in order to emphasise how violent it was: The young man’s face is bristling with fragments of glass and the girl’s leg has caught on the broken window and spurts arterial blood over her wet-look white coat. Their arms are starfished out braced for impact. Their faces show surprise, shock, and the beginning of pain.

One of the ways in which Morgan emphasises the violence of the attack is through his effective use of imagery.

How an author “paints a picture” in our minds. What is imagery? How an author “paints a picture” in our minds. It is created when an author uses Metaphor. Simile. Personification.

What is a simile? Where the author compares two different things by using the words “like” or “as”. The car was as fast as a bullet. My love is like a red red rose.

What is a Metaphor? A metaphor compares two different things without using the words “like” or “as”. A metaphor works by saying that one thing is something completely different.

Simile= Her hair was like golden silk. Metaphor= Her hair was golden silk.

Other examples The moon is a balloon in the sky. The man’s office is a tip. The lake was a mirror.

What is personification? Where an author gives a non-human thing the characteristics or attributes or emotions of a human being. The storm was cruel and angry. The wind whispered in my ear.

Back to the poem... “The young man’s face is bristling with fragments of glass” Explain in detail how this use of metaphor makes the attack on the young couple seem more violent.

1. “bristling with fragments of glass” is a metaphor. The author is comparing the glass on the man’s face to a beard. Just as a beard is rough and spiky and made up of thousands of hair, so too were thousands of shards of glass sharp and jaggy and covering the man’s face. 2. This effectively conveys how violent the attack was as we can imagine how much agony the young man must have experienced as the razor-sharp glass tore at his skin and embedded themselves all over his face. We can also assume that the glass from the window would have torn his face severely, resulting in torrents of blood, and that the man would have been terribly scarred for the rest of his life due to the attack. He would have been reminded of the terrifying attack every time that he looked in the mirror.

Which technique is being used here? “the girl’s leg...spurts arterial blood” Which technique is being used here?

Another way in which Morgan makes the attack on the young couple seem very violent is through his use of onomatopoeia when he tells us that the young woman has a wound in her leg which “spurts” blood over her clothes.

What is onomatopoeia? This is where an author uses a word that imitates the sound that he/she is describing. For example: Hiss! is a word that imitates the sound of a snake. Crunch! is a word that imitates the sound of a person eating crisps. Splash! is a word that imitates the sound of a person jumping into a swimming pool.

“the girl’s leg...spurts arterial blood” How does the onomatopoeia in this quote make the attack seem very violent? (Use the quote plus comment method for writing about word choice).

“spurts” (onomatopoeia) This has connotations of gushing, spraying, splashing, pouring, speed, fast, uncontrollable… This effectively conveys the violence of the attack because the onomatopoeia means that the reader can almost hear the sound of the blood pouring out of the girl’s leg at great speed. It also conveys the fact that the blood is uncontrollably gushing out of her body due to the severe wound in her leg and that the injury is possibly life-threatening. We can imagine how terrified and in agony the girl must have been as her blood sprayed everywhere and drenched her clothes and her life was draining away. The glass has ripped open her leg and torn her artery.

Another technique that Morgan uses in the poem is called “emotive language”. Emotive language is where an author uses a particular word or phrase in order to provoke an emotional reaction in the reader.

“the girl’s leg...spurts arterial blood” The word “blood” is emotive language as the reader feels emotions such as disgust, fear and concern when we see this word. We know that the woman is severely injured and that she might die if she does not receive medical attention soon.

“Their arms are star-fished out braced for impact”. What does the word “star-fished” tell us about the manner in which the couple fell into the shop window? 2. How do these lines emphasise the violence of the attack?

“Their faces show surprise, shock, and the beginning of pain” 1. Write down two examples of emotive language from this quote. 2. Explain how one example makes the reader feel sympathy for the young couple as they are being violently attacked. Use the quote plus comment method.

“pain” This has connotations of unbearable, discomfort, agony, suffering, hurt, injured. This is effective because the young couple must have been in unbearable discomfort and agony due to being violently pushed through the window. We feel sympathy as they are severely injured and would be greatly suffering after this unprovoked assault. If they do not receive help then it is likely that their injuries would be fatal.

“shock” This has connotations of alarm, disturbed, distress, panic. This is effective because we can imagine how alarmed and disturbed the young couple would have been as they were violently pushed through the shop window. We feel sympathy towards them as the experienced would have caused great panic and distress in them. The attack happened very suddenly without any warning and resulted in horrific injuries and we naturally feel sorry for the young couple.

Task Write a detailed paragraph which explains how Morgan `uses different techniques to make the attack seem violent. Choose two of the following quotes: “The young man’s face is bristling with fragments of glass” “the girl’s leg...spurts arterial blood” “Their arms are starfished out braced for impact”. “Their faces show surprise, shock, and the beginning of pain”

Your topic sentence has been written for you Your topic sentence has been written for you. Copy this down and then complete the paragraph: Through his effective use of different techniques, Morgan is able to vividly portray the violence in the attack on the young couple. This task should be finished for homework for tomorrow if not completed in class.

We are learning... To be able to analyse and evaluate how Morgan uses Word Choice to emphasise the cruelty of the gang of youths.

We will be focusing on the Word Choice in lines 15-19: “The two youths who have pushed them are about to complete the operation reaching into the window to loot what they can smartly. Their faces show no expression”

“about to complete the operation reaching into the window to loot what they can smartly” What does the word choice of “operation” tell us about the attack and the criminals? Make sure that you explain how effectively this quote emphasises the cruelty of the gang of criminals.

“operation” (euphemism) This has connotations of planning; planned; thought- out; careful; precise; skilled; devised; mission; preparation. This emphasises the cruelty of the youths as they have clearly planned the attack carefully and prepared for it in advance. They are able to predict the serious consequences of their violent actions and the terrible injuries they will cause their victims and yet they carry out the mission they have carefully devised in a precise manner.

“operation” (euphemism) This has connotations of planning; planned; thought- out; careful; precise; skilled; devised; mission; preparation.

“Their faces show no expression” What is the attitude of the youths about what they have done? How effectively does this emphasise how cruel the gang of criminals are?

“their faces show no expression” This emphasises the cruelty of the two youths as they show absolutely no emotion towards the horrific injuries they have inflicted on their victims and how much pain, distress and agony they must have been in. The two criminals feel absolutely no regret or remorse over their actions. They feel no sympathy or concern for their victims, nor do they feel guilty about the harm they have inflicted. The fact that they show no emotion also suggests that they have committed this type of attack before and that they have become immune to any form of feelings regarding the crime that they are committing.

We are learning... To be able to analyse and evaluate how Morgan uses the poem to make a comment about society. To be able to understand the main themes of the poem.

We will be focusing on lines 20-23: It is a sharp, clear night in Sauchiehall Street. In the background two drivers keep their eyes on the road.

Why is it important that the attack happened on a “clear night in Sauchiehall Street”? What point is Morgan making about our society?

Everyone would be able to see the attack happening. It takes place on a very busy street and there would have been lots of witnesses. Despite this, no-one steps in to intervene or help. Morgan is suggesting that we live in a cruel and selfish society and that most people lack the courage or don’t care enough to help others in situations like this.

b. What point is he making about Scottish society? 2. Morgan tells us that while the attack is taking place: In the background two drivers keep their eyes on the road. a. Why does he tell us this? What is he suggesting about the people in the cars? b. What point is he making about Scottish society?

The people in the cars witness the attack but they pretend that they don’t see it. If they don’t see it then they don’t have to do anything to help (wilful blindness). Morgan is suggesting that the people in the cars are cowardly and selfish as they do nothing to help the victims of the attack. Morgan is suggesting that there is no such thing as a community because we are too interested in helping ourselves. In Scotland we are too narcissistic (self-obsessed): we do not care about others. However, perhaps they do not intervene as they are too scared. Morgan is suggesting that our society is dangerous and that people are afraid to put themselves at risk to help others.

Theme Think about the poem as a whole. What are the main themes that Morgan is trying to convey in the poem?

Theme = the main ideas that are found throughout the text.

2 Main themes 1. Crime and violence. -the dramatic opening. -the violence of the attack. 2. Cruelty and selfishness. -the cruelty of the attackers. -the main messages of the poem.