Good Friday By Edwin Morgan

GOOD FRIDAY Three o’clock. The bus lurches round into the sun. “D’s this go –” he flops beside me – “right along Bath Street? -Oh tha’s, tha’s all right, see I’ve got to get some Easter eggs for the kiddies. I’ve had a wee drink, ye understand – ye’ll maybe think it’s a – funny day to be celebrating – well, no, but ye see I wasny working, and I like to celebrate when I’m no working – I don’t say it’s right I’m no saying it’s right – ye understand – ye understand?

but anyway tha’s the way I look at it – I’m no boring you, eh? – ye see today, take today, I don’t know what today’s in aid of, whether Christ was – crucified or was he – rose fae the dead like, see what I mean? You’re an educatit man, you can tell me – -Aye, well. There you are. It’s been seen time and again, the working man has nae education, he jist canny – jist hasny got it, know what I mean, he’s jist bliddy ignorant – Christ aye, bliddy ignorant. Well –” The bus brakes violently, he lunges for the stair, swings down – off, into the sun for his Easter eggs, on very nearly steady legs. © Good Friday from Collected Poems by Edwin Morgan, Carcanet Press Limited, 2000

Edwin Morgan is a Glasgow poet who said “you can write poetry about anything. You really can! This discovery goes hand in hand with the insight that poetry does not necessarily have to be written in elaborated language. It even becomes possible to let real Glasgow voices speak in their own rich dialect,” These ideas can be seen clearly in this poem.

1.When you see the title of this poem, what do you expect the poem to be about? 2.What effect do you think the poet is trying to create in lines 1-2 ? Three o’clock. The bus lurches round into the sun. 3. What is Morgan attempting to do when he writes “D’s this go –”? 4.What can we tell about the man’s state in line 4?

1.When you see the title of this poem, what do you expect the poem to be about? I THOUGHT THE POEM WOULD BE MORE SERIOUS AND HAVE STRONG RELIGIOUS MEANING BECAUSE THE TITLE IS RELATED TO THE CRUCIFICTION OF JESUS. 2.What effect do you think the poet is trying to create in lines 1-2 ? Three o’clock. The bus lurches round into the sun. “THREE OCLOCK” MAKES US AWARE OF THE SETTING IN TIME OF THE POEM, IT IS ONLY THE EARLY AFTERNOON. “Lurches” is a present tense word making the poem seem more immediate like it is happening in front of us. “ the sun” sets a pleasant mood to the poem. 3. What is Morgan attempting to do when he writes “D’s this go –”? We know right away that someone is speaking to the poet. Right away through the use of “D’s” we know that the man is going to be quite slang” 4.What can we tell about the man’s state in line 4? We start to notice that the man is drunk when he repeats himself- “thas thas alright”

5. Why has Morgan used so many dashes in the poem? 6. In line 9 the man says he “like[s] to celebrate”. What is it he likes to celebrate? 7.The man addresses the other passenger as an “educatit man”. How can he tell? What distinction is he making between the other passenger and himself? 8.What generalisation is the man making about Glaswegian workers?

5. Why has Morgan used so many dashes in the poem? The dashes indicate that where the peot speaks to the man, however we never hear the poet’s responses. Also the dashes in between the mans words could suggest he is slurring his speech, further evidence that he is drunk.” 6. In line 9 the man says he “like[s] to celebrate”. What is it he likes to celebrate? He likes to celebrate days when he is not working even though he should not be drinking on Good Friday. Perhaps he works in a very physically demanding, tough job so feels like he needs to enjoy his days off. 7.The man addresses the other passenger as an “educatit man”. How can he tell? What distinction is he making between the other passenger and himself? We can assume the poets speech is less slang than the drunk man which allows him to believe the poet is well educated. 8.What generalisation is the man making about Glaswegian workers? He suggests that working class people know less than the educated in particular about religion.

9.Look at line 24. Choose a word or phrase which describes the way the man moves. Explain your reasoning. 10. Lines 26,27,28 and 29 are laid out on the page in a very specific way. Suggest why you think the poet has chosen this layout. 11. What question do you think Morgan is trying to raise in the mind of the reader?

9.Look at line 24. Choose a word or phrase which describes the way the man moves. Explain your reasoning. “He lunges” or “swings”- both of these words suggest the lack of control the man has over his movements. This suggests that he is drunk and staggering, as though he is not steady on his feet. 10. Lines 26,27,28 and 29 are laid out on the page in a very specific way. Suggest why you think the poet has chosen this layout. The poet has staggered the lag out of these lines in order to mirror the way in which the man is swaying and moving abruptly as he attempts to walk off to get the Easter eggs. 11. What question do you think Morgan is trying to raise in the mind of the reader? The poet wants us to realise that just because someone does conform to a religion- by drinking on Good Friday- he is not a bad person. We find the drunk man likeable despite the fact that he has committed this ‘sin’.