1. ‘Trio’ EDWIN MORGAN

2. Identify: We three kings of Orient are Bearing gifts we traverse afar Field and fountain, moor and mountain Following yonder star O Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright Westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to thy Perfect Light Speaking of songs, how could we link song to this poem? If we look at the poem in terms of song, what sort of sound would it be?

3. Gather round and tell the tale What is the Christmas story? Who do you know it in? What details can you remember?

4. ‘Trio’ Poster Match the Christmas story details with lines from the poem

5. ‘Trio’ realism What 6 details do we get in the following lines? Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening a young man and two girls, under the Christmas lights- Highlight all the present tense verbs in the first 8 lines What impression of the situation do these verbs give the reader? Why? Compare this with the opening line: Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp winter evening What’s different and why?

6. Realism and detail Your posters are delightfully whimsical and capture the Christmas story, building on our understanding that Morgan likes to reference religion in his poems The other key focus for Morgan is REALISM and so there are lots of little details that help set the place, describe characters and give a Glaswegian voice to people. On the back of your poster: Draw the chihuahua as it is described in these lines. Draw the baby as it is described in these lines. Draw the guitar as it is described in these lines. Under each picture, write the line of the poem that goes with it.

7. Realism and detail What is the similarity between the baby, the Chihuahua, and the guitar? What protects the Chihuahua? How do we know it is loved and cared for? What protects the baby? How do we know it is loved and cared for? What protects the guitar? How do we know the young man is proud of it? Go back to your poster. Around the drawings label all the positive words Morgan uses to describe each object.

8. Jog your memory What three things does the title suggest? Three Wise Men Mary, Joseph, Jesus Holy Trinity: father, son, holy spirit

9. Techniques Evidence – quotationExplanation of effect title Trio Means three people together but also has connotations of being in harmony with each other and ties in with ideas about music in the poem realismComing up Buchanan Street Use of few exact details early on makes the whole poem seem real and alive present tense Makes the poem seem immediate and engaging symbolThe baby in it’s ‘white shawl’Represents Jesus and purity Repetition, parenthesis, line layout, metaphor, allusion, ideas of protection, ideas of fragility, Glasgow dialect

10. Techniques Evidence—quotationExplanation of effect repetition‘under the Christmas lights’ Reinforces the idea of protection parenthesis‘yet not vanished…laughter ringing round them like a guard’ The warm, happy spirit of the group lingers on after they have physically left Line layoutThree fragments of lines are broken and placed out Helps express the protection of the lights as well as reinforcing the beauty of the gift/baby

11. Techniques techniqueEvidence--quotationExplanation of effect metaphor‘Monsters of the year’These are the problems we face in life, the image helps to draw out how terrible they can be allusion‘vale of tears’Again, all the hardship of life—this group repels these things Ideas of protection‘laughter ringing round them like a guard’ A ‘guard’ will block out the evil—their happiness protects them

12. Techniques techniqueEvidence—quotationExplanation of effect Ideas of fragility‘a very young baby’Needs protection— these people effectively shelter it Glasgow dialect“Wait till he sees this, but” Lends realism to the poem, further identifies the setting…

13. Questions 1. The author gives this poem a sense of reality. Show how this is achieved in the first eight lines. (Coming up…see this but!) 2 2. In lines 9-11 (‘The Chihuahua has…sprig of mistletoe’) Morgan describes what the young people are carrying. What mood or atmosphere is created by the writer, and how does he use language effectively to create this mood? 3 3. Many of the ideas in the poem come across clearly in lines 12- 18 (‘Orphean sprig!...this march of three’). Identify at least one of Morgan’s main ideas from these lines. Show how one example of the poet’s language in these lines helps to clarify or illustrate his meaning. 3 4. Show how two examples of the poet’s use of language in lines 19-23 (‘—And the three…this winter’s day.’) help to clarify or illustrate his ideas in these lines. 4

14. Links to other poems What are some common themes and ideas between ‘Trio’ and ‘Good Friday’? What are the differences?

15. Links to other poems: similarities Religion Realism: ◦real people, ◦real accents, ◦real details about real places/settings Goodness in the common man—uplifting ideas Opening: sets the scene, time of day, give a starting impression Closing, goes back to the opening setting Disjointed lines: three in ‘Trio’, the final line of ‘Good Friday’ titles ….

16. Links to other poems: differences The state of the working man isn’t good and he apologies for it whereas the ‘trio’ are joyful, happy and positive throughout WE don’t hear a great deal from the ‘trio’ and the focus is on a description of them, this is the reverse in ‘Good Friday’ There’s a sense of protection and togetherness in ‘Trio’ whereas we are less certain about ‘Good Friday’ Structure of the middle of the poem: ‘Trio’ is a description of the 3 people, ‘Good Friday’ the entire middle is devoted to the working man’s dialogue

17. Joint Question 8 marks With close textual reference, discuss in what ways this poem is similar AND/OR different to another poem or poems by Morgan you have studied. You may refer to ideas and/or language in your answer.

18. How to answer 1. Answer the question: Morgan’s poems often express a sense of hope. Compare how ‘Trio’ and at least one other poem helps to develop this idea. 2. Link to the ◦Beginnings of poems ◦Middles ◦Ends 3. Sum up the overall theme/ideas that are similar in the poems

19. How to respond 1. Answer the question: What way(s) are the poems similar and/or different (hint: stick with one or the other and ‘similar’ provides a richer response opportunity) 2. Make a reference to the ‘home’ poem (in this case ‘Trio’ as this is the one we’ve just finished work on) make links on the new poem’s opening ◦Say something about the similarities/difference in the opening ◦Quote and example of a similarity of the opening from the comparison poem ◦Explain how and why this is similar 3. Make a reference to the ‘home’ poem then make links on the new poem’s middle ◦Say something about the similarities/difference in the middle ◦Quote and example of a similarity of the opening from the comparison poem ◦Explain how and why this is similar

20. How to respond 4. You may want to include comments on the third poem now. Make a reference to the ‘home’ poem make links on the new poem’s middle ◦Say something about the similarities/difference in the middle ◦Quote and example of a similarity of the opening from the comparison poem ◦Explain how and why this is similar 5. Make a reference to the ‘home’ poem make links on the poems in the end ◦Say something about the similarities/difference in the middle ◦Quote and example of a similarity of the opening from the comparison poem ◦Explain how and why this is similar 6. Sum up the overall theme/ideas that are similar in the poems

21. Model response ‘In the Snack Bar’ and ‘Good Friday’ have many similarities with ‘Good Friday.’ All three poems evoke real people and realistic settings and two of the three have underlying links to religion. ‘Good Friday’ and ‘Trio’ are titles which have links to the religious celebrations the poems make reference to. In ‘Good Friday’ the working man’s object is to buy Easter eggs for his kids but the title also suggests the religious day where Christ died on the cross for