Critical Essay

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Critical Essay

• Some poems can provide an uplifting or joyful
  experience for the reader.
• Choose such a poem and go on to explain how the
  poets use of poetic techniques helps us to share
  his emotions.
• your answer you should refer to at least two of
  structure,word choice, imagery, tone, ideas.

In
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Trio

• Theme of warmth, happiness, relationships
• religious element three -wise men
• the word trio suggests the three working
  together, in harmony
• Line arrangement also has divisions into three
  sections

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Coming up Buchanan Street, quickly, on a sharp
winter evening a young man and two girls, under
the Christmas lights-

• A real location
• quickly suggests their liveliness, energy
• day and season is established
• coldness contrasts with the warmth of the three
• the Christmas lights reminds us of the star
  leading the Magi to Bethlehem
• the dash opens parenthesis containing a detailed
  description of a fleeting instamatic moment

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The young man carries a new guitar in his
arms,the girl on the inside carries a very young
baby,and the girl on the outside carries a
chihuahua.

• Repetition of young highlights youth
• the guitar relates to the Magi, bearing gifts
• the baby reminds us of Mary and the baby Christ
• the exotic little dog relates to the beasts round
  the manger

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And the three of them are laughing, and their
breath risesin a cloud of happiness, and as they
pass the boy says, Wait till he sees this, but!

• Laughing reinforces the positive atmosphere
• the cloud of happiness is a metaphor suggesting
  that their happiness is almost visible, tangible
  and infectious. It is cold and their breath in
  the air would be visible.
• the direct speech (with obvious Glaswegian
  dialect) brings them to life and suggests their
  warmth and generosity

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The chihuahua has a tiny Royal Stewart tartan
coat like a teapot- holder,the baby in its
white shawl is all bright eyes and moth like
favours in a fresh sweet cake,the guitar swells
under its milky plastic cover, tied at the
neck with silver tinsel tape and a brisk sprig
of mistletoe.

• Structure here, with long lines spilling over,
  suggests their warmth and happiness spilling over
  and infecting others, also suggested by swells
• simile teapot-holder suggests warmth, cosiness
• simile favours suggests weddings and
  christenings happy family occasions
• milky suggests the nurturing of the child
• alliteration suggests the sounds of the tinsel
  and wrapped gifts

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Orphean sprig! Melting baby! Warm chihuahua!

• The poet seems overwhelmed and filled with wonder
  at the image, shown by the use of exclamation
  marks
• their warmth Melting Warm has affected him
• Orpheus is the Greek God of music(guitar)
• the sprig is mistletoe (associated with kissing)

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The vale of tears is powerless before
you.Whether Christ is born, or is not born,
youput paid to fate, it abdicates under
the Christmas lights

• vale of tears is a Biblical expression
  suggesting pain and suffering
• The next line suggests Morgan is not concerned
  with a Christian message in this poem, but more
  the idea of the power of human love at this time
• fate often written with a capital letter, loses
  its power here and abdicates like a king giving
  up the throne because the trio you is more
  powerful
• the pushing aside of the Christian message is
  reflected in layout of the line under the
  Christmas lights pushed aside

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Monsters of the year go blank, are scattered
back,cant bear this march of three.

• Bad things like death, break ups, burglary, work
  stress are cancelled out , forgotten when we
  start to remember what is really important
• march of three suggests an army, three
  musketeers etc., heroes who are defeating
  unhappiness

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-And the three have passed, vanished in the
crowd(yet not vanished, for in their arms they
windthe life of men and beasts , and
music,laughter ringing round them like a
guard)at the end of this winters day.

• Parenthesis - closes the initial image/moment.
  Brackets are used to extend their presence - they
  might have vanished but their effect continues.
  Without the brackets it would be as if their
  influence had also gone
• ringing suggests Christmas bells and is a sound
  that lingers just like their happy image lingers
• like a guard simile- their laughter protects
  them, keeps them safe and happy

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Some poems can provide an uplifting or joyful
experience for the reader. Choose such a poem and
go on to explain how the poets use of poetic
techniques helps us to share his emotions. In
your answer you should refer to at least two of
structure, word choice, imagery, tone, ideas.
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• Introduction
• Word choice / imagery
• Structure
• Conclusion

Remember that your focus is on an uplifting
experience, so choose those words and images that
create the joyful atmosphere most
powerfully. When writing about structure ,
explain what the parenthesis sentence structure
add to the emotional impact.
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Although the day is cold and frosty, the love
that unites the three people keeps them warm.
Morgan uses imagery effectively to convey how he
is infected by their warmth their breath rises
in a cloud of happiness. This metaphor conveys
how in the cold air their breath is visible
literally a cloud, but it also suggests that
their happiness itself is visible, tangible and
infectious to all they pass. Through Morgans
vivid description , the reader is also touched by
the warmth of the three.

1. Point relevant to task
2. Technique
3. Quotation
4. Analysis
5. Personal reaction

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Introduction

• Trio by Edwin Morgan is an uplifting poem which
  examines the power of human warmth and kindness
  during the festive season. Morgan has
  beautifully captured an instant of time when
  three happy young shoppers pass him in the
  street. He is clearly affected by this
  experience and shares with his reader the joyful
  atmosphere of the moment and the overwhelmingly
  positive insight he gained into the human
  condition.