A consumers report :> Flashcards
Analyze title
A Consumer’s Report
- “a” shows that it is only one of the consumers
- “consumer” is a great hook, grabs the audience’s interest
“I suppose I have about half left but it’s difficult to tell”
Unpredictability, preciousness of life. Live in the moment and appreciate things around you. Make most out of life!
“So finally, I’d buy it. “
Presents an optimistic approach to life, concludes the poem on the term that life is ultimately worth it.
“The instructions are fairly large there are so many of them I don’t know which to follow, especially as they seem to contradict each other.”
Complicatedness and contradictions in life. There is no set way to live your life. Interrogates various philosophies and theories that you may encounter in life.
“One of my friends says it’s just to keep its maker in a job.”
May be questioning the religions in life, but it can also be supporting various religions (connection to the ending, where life is overall still portrayed as positive). May also be critiquing patriarchal society where women are forced to be house wives.
“If you say you don’t want it, then it’s delivered anyway.”
The inevitability of certain events in life. Adds on to the message to make the most of life since you are here already, shows a stoic attitude towards life.
“If its experts are called philosophers or market researchers or historians, we shouldn’t care.”
Interrogates the construction of “what life should be”, and encourages personal interpretations of life.
Structure
- Free verse, which adds to the immersion of the poem being a dull consumers report.
Theme
Themes of commercialization of life as a product, something that can be bought instead of being valued beyond the monetary gains. Themes of leftist theory could also be argued as it is very adamant in critiquing traditional academia. As well as the capitalist status quo.
Form
The poem would be in 3 stanzas that would form natural paragraphs, flowing like a string of thought naturally. Though it also has a sense of professionalism and conciseness. As each stanza would be its own self contained arguments.
Context
The poem came out around the 1970s, at the height of the Cold War. Where ideas of Marxism and Socialism would prove popular, as the Soviet Union would remain strong as a polar opposite to the US. Thus intellectuals around this time would start to push for left leaning policies seeing the success of the Soviets.
Context on Peter Porter
Born in the 1920s, his first works would be published around 1960. He would be the writer in residence for several universities in Britain. For his efforts he would be awarded several medals, and be the subject of a special issue of poetry review. His knowledge in the higher bands of academia and roots around the 30s would probably influence his left leaning ideas of the time.
