A Minor Role by U.A. Fanthorpe Flashcards
Title
‘Minor’ suggests the speaker does not have the star role in the performance and that they are small and insignificant
‘Role’ suggests they are acting and pretending for others
Extended metaphor
Stanza 1:
First line - ‘I’m best observed on stage’
‘Yes, sir. O no, sir’ (In Italics)
‘Midget moments wrong, the monstrous fabric’
Verb ‘observed’ suggests how the reader feels as though they are putting on a play and being watched
‘Stage’ indicates there is distance between the speaker and the audience
The ‘stage’ is used as a metaphor to demonstrate the ‘minor role’ that the speaker plays in their own life - they’re constantly listen to others and pleasing others, when really they are illustrated as being on the verge of breaking.
italic wording very formal - change in font represents a false persona being put up
The dialogue is scribed in italics which produces a realistic effect and also demonstrates how one can easily be complacent and agree or disagree with something, which is portrayed through these monosyllabic responses. It is also an example of social niceties in our society, such as the way one would address or respond to someone of a higher authority.
Use of alliteration
‘Monstrous fabric’ is symbolic of the fabric of society
metaphorical show of life as a whole: one mistake, and “the monstrous fabric” of everyday life would fall apart.
use of alliteration and plosive consonants like ‘g’, ‘t’ and ‘d’ create a harsh and abrupt sound and perhaps this reflects how the speaker has become tired of this pretence.
Stanza 2:
Setting = Hospital
Use of enjambment and alliteration highlights how some of the tasks that the speaker must complete are mundane and monotonous.
Enjambment used to represent a continuous cycle of mundaneness
Stanza 3:
Setting = ‘At home’
Faster pace - seeking escapism and wishing to run away from the confinement emphasised within the hospital
Stanza 4:
‘At home’ repetition
‘Whimsical soft-centred happy-all-the-way-through novels’
‘Conjugate all the genres of misery’
‘Pretend all’s well, Admit it’s not’
shows desire and desperation to be released and go back to their comfort zone
Irony as this literary piece is not ‘happy’ at all but rather depressing. The speaker pleads for this utopian life.
Juxtaposition and contrast from previous ideas of happiness - Facing their reality
facade and putting up an act for others while also being self aware
Stanza 5:
Use of listing
‘Yearnings for a simpler illness, like a broken leg’
‘Not the star part’
Shows repetitive and continuous nature of being hospitalised
Indicates the speaker has no time to catch a breathe so they are slowly dying
wishes to bargain with a different illness
Feels as if they are the centre of attention but don’t want to be
Stanza 6:
‘Who would want it?’
‘Servant’
‘Ill advised’
‘It would be better to die. No it wouldn’t!’
Rhetorical Question - No one desires a terminal illness
repetition indicates the speaker is Royalty with everyone around them adhering to their every needs
Ironic as the speaker seems to be suffering an illness
Suffering too difficult to handle however the speaker fears death and doesn’t want their life being taken away.
They are holding on and trying to fight
Final Line:
‘I am here to make you believe in life’
Encourages readers to live their life to the fullest and not give up on it despite any circumstance
Context
The poet was once a teacher but left her career, in order to become a receptionist at a psychiatric hospital. Here, she observed the patient; clearly they had a profound influence on her as she produced this poem.
Structure
Framed narrative - we return back to the stage which was initially described at the beginning of the poem, except this time the narrator does not accept their ‘minor role’ or the ‘star part’ - Fanthorpe, highlights the change in mindset for the narrator - they are less dismissive and a sense of optimism is created.
6 stanzas with one single last line - ‘six’ and ‘sick’ are examples of paronomasia as they sound similar and the poem contains the schematic field of illness - emphasis on sickness - use of word play
Final Line of the poem allows the readers to take a moment and think about their life.
The poet creates emphasis on the fact that people should not give up on their life despite any circumstances
Agenda
Fanthorpe highlights how our society is flawed because we always tell the same lie: ‘I’m fine’
Represents endless cycle patients endure and how they are stuck in one spot as the world continues to move around them
They are forced to spectate
The speaker emphasises how precious life is
Navigate social taboos around the topic of death and dying
speaker’s facade cracks
Themes
Social Expectations - throughout the poem, the poet highlights how society often expects someone suffering from a severe illness to display emotion about the anxiousness that they may feel. However, in this case the speaker does no such thing in public.
Pretence - the ‘stage’, which is referred to at the beginning and the end of the poem functions as a metaphor and highlights the speaker’s ‘minor role’ within a play, which is used to explore ideas of social pretence. The narrator describes themselves pretending that ‘all is well, admit it’s not’. Fanthorpe portrays how often pretending or holding up a facade is better than facing reality.
Avoidance - ‘O, getting on, getting better my formula/For well-meant intrusiveness.’ - it is easy for one to forget that sometime ‘well-meant intrusiveness’ is not needed, because often all that one needs is space and time to reflect. In the 4th stanza, the poet illustrates how we often try and avoid confronting difficult and delicate situations and it is something that as a society we do.
Isolation/Separation - ‘bed solves a lot’,
Truth - ‘pretend all’s well, Admit it’s not’ - this is the last line of the 4th stanza and it introduces the reader to a familiar notion of not wanting to ‘admit’ that you are not happy, that you are not okay.
Acceptance/Stoicism - ‘I am here to make you believe in life’ - this is the final line of the poem and can be interpreted in many different ways. Personally, I think it is almost humorous or even satirical
as it the narrator expresses how often we are not content with our lives and forget to appreciate the fact that we are alive and healthy.
First Person Perspective
A first person voice is significant as it makes the account more personal and perhaps the reader is more likely to relate to the speaker’s experience if so. The use of first person voice also highlights how often it is easy to be misled about the emotional experience of sufferers of illness, in particular terminal illnesses - by having a personal account from a patient, the reader will be able to obtain a more accurate and perhaps meaningful account of such experiences.
