In Mrs Tilscher's Class Flashcards
You could travel up the Blue Nile
“You” - This is a direct address to the reader showing childhood is a shared experance
“could tracel up the blue nile” - Mrs. T has transported her pupils through her lessons
“Blue” - The use of the senses: sight, tough and sound
with your finger, tracing the route
“your finger, tracing” - The use of the senses: sight, tough and sound
while Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery.
“chanted” - The use of the senses: sight, tough and sound
Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswan.
The minor sentances show us sence of wonder and adventure created by these places
That for an hour, then a skittle of milk
“skittle of milk” - Milk links with the matornal and innocents
and the chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust.
“chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust.” - The neverending possibilities of what is on the bored. “Dust” is the first suggestion of time passing of something ending, being lost
A window opened with a long pole.
The first idea of the outside world is introduced
The laugh of a bell swung by a running child.
“The laugh of a bell” - This is called a transferred epifet - shows happiness
“swung by a running child.” - Shows energy and carefree
This was better than home. Enthralling books.
This was indespatable (no arguing within it) short sentences. School was sencary and adventure, home is unadspiring
The classroom glowed like a sweet shop.
The similie shows delight and temptation, and sparks the imagination
Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. Brady and Hindly
“Sugar paper. Couloured shapes.” - The simple items transport the children to a magical world
“Brady and Hindley” - Although they had children as their victems, they’re okaced amid the wonder of the class classroom making them less significant
faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake.
“like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake.” - The classroom is a safe place as even these ideas cannot penietrate, however you cant erase evil from the world completly
Mrs Tilscher loved you. Some mornings, you found
“Mrs Tilscher loved you.” - he second person inclludes the reader who feels the nurturing impact of Mrs. T
she’d left a good gold star by your name.
“she’d left a good gold star” - Its magical, it appears over night
The scent of a pencil slowly, carefully, shaved.
“a pencil slowly, carefully, shaved.” - Its senceory (the senses) its like the slow act of sharpening a pencil, a memorie we all have
A xylophone’s nonsense heard from another form.
“A xylophone’s nonsense” - It sounds fun, appealing
Over the Easter term, the inky tadpoles changed
from commas into exclamation marks. Three frogs
“Easter” - Easter is the spring is a time of groth and new beggingings
“the inky tadpoles changed / from commas into exclamation marks.” - Tadpoles are to do with reproduction/development. The change from , to a ! (punctuation) reflects their groth in size and maturity
hopped in the playground, freed by a dunce,
“dunce,” - These contrast with gold star and show pupils taking charge and causing havoc. Its childlike language
followed by a line of kids, jumping and croaking
“jumping and croaking” - Its still fun, they’re just kids
- Their voices are braking
away from the lunch queue. A rough boy
told you how you were born. You kicked him, but stared
“A rough boy” - These contrast with gold star and show pupils taking charge and causing havoc. Its childlike language
“A rough boy / told you how you were born” - She is given an understanding of sex, this takes place outside of the classroom, outside the saftey of Mrs T’s classroom, she is moving away from childhood
“You Kicked him,” - A violent, angry reaction
at your parents, appalled, when you got back home.
“appalled” - In parenthesis showing the shock and horror that she feels
- Her familiar and safe world is disintrigrating
That feverish July, the air tasted of electricity
“That feverish July” - This is a transferred epithet and it shows the agitated mood also its July, so summer annd her childhood are ending
“tasted of electricity” - Its changed, they’re not at ease, they’re on the cusp of something
A tangible alarm made you always untidy, hot,
fractious under the heavy, sexy shy. You asked her
“A tangible alarm” - This is a physical warning that they feel
“always untidy, hot, / fractious” - This makes the begining of pubertity
“the heavy, sexy shy” - This is called pathetic fallary - it shows a storm is building. It suggests a burden, a sense of something bad about to happen (foreboding), sexuality, knollage, and emotion
how you were born and Mrs Tilscher smiled
then turned away. Reports were handed out.
“Mrs Tilscher smiled, / then turned away” - The line brake shows that she is too old for Mrs. T now, Mrs. T belongs to her childhood
“Reports were handed out” - Its the end of the school year, the end of childhood
You ran through the gaets, impatient to be grown,
“You ran through the gates” - This is a metaphor for the change between childhood and adulthood
as the sky split open into a thunderstorm.
Pathetic fallacy (like a metaphor) shows the turmoil of adolesence. There is danger they are unprotected beyond Mrs. T’s classroom
Structure
- Stanzas one and two are eight lines each
- Stanzas three and four are seven lines each
Showing the desabalsing nature (qualit) of adolesence
