In Mrs Tilscher's Classroom Flashcards
“You could travel up the blue nile”
Word choice of “you” As a personal pronoun that invites the reader to remember their own childhood experiences in the classroom and involves us in the journey of the speaker alluding to the idea that these issues are ones that we all face.
The word choice of “blue” adds to the senses of the atmosphere of the classroom and acts to portray the colorful and lively classroom environment showing how full of joy these developmental years were for the speaker
“Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery”
Word choice of “chanted” adds further to the sensory feel of the poem and emphasises further how the senses were incorporated into the lessons and how each child in the class was fully invested into mrs tilscher’s lessons conveying themes of childhood.
“Then a skittle of milk”
“skittle of milk” metaphor that compares a bottle of milk to a skittle reflecting how back in those idealistic days even simple household items could be turned into games by the creative mind of these children. This drives home the themes of childhood innocence as these children helplessly play with regular items they remain blissfully unaware of the world around them.
“Chalky pyramids rubbed to dust”
The word choice of “rubbed to dust” has magical connotations emphasising how enthralled the children were with the lessons that were being taught to them and how much of an impact these lessons had on the children.
“A window opened with a long pole”
Here the speaker uses symbolism to portray themes of childhood innocence, as the window symbolises the outside world as the classroom and mrs tilscher protect the children from the dangers of the world. However the reader is reminded of the presence of the outside world however it remains distant to these children and seems like almost an afterthought in this environment.
“The laugh of a bell swung by a running child”
Word choice of “laugh” suggests ideas that this is a place where children are free to grow and develop without danger. Playing on ideas of childhood innocence.
Personification of the bell as “laughing” emphasises the carefree environment that the children find themselves in as even performing chores such as ringing a school bell are made fun to the children by the joy that is synonymous with mrs tilscher’s classroom.
“This was better than home”
The word choice of “better than home” highlights how the speaker’s home life has in the past been uninspired and uneventful however now that she is in the classroom she starts to experience more joy in books this also emphasises how the children in Mrs tilscher’s class love the classroom environment and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else emphasising how inclusive and nurturing the classroom environment was for these children.
“The classroom glowed like a sweetshop”
Simile of “glowed like a sweetshop” compares the classroom to a sweetshop which to children are some of the most magical places on earth this reflects how the classroom appears almost mystical and full of colour and imagination in the eyes of the children and reinforces the speakers ideas of the children enjoying being present in the class.
“Brady and Hindley faded like the mere smudge of a mistake”
Word choice of “Brady and Hindley” acts as a contrast to the Joy and imagination previously as it abruptly mentions a duo of serial killers responsible for murdering school children around the age of the speaker at this moment. This plays on themes of Innocence versus awareness as the children are so enthralled in the bright and colourful classroom however in the backs of their minds they are aware of dark forces that could hurt them. The illusion of safety is almost broken by the arrival of these dark figures in the stanza however in the minds of the children they simply fade away
“Fade away like the mere smudge of a mistake” This simile compares the actions of Brady and Hindley to a mistake again highlighting the innocence of the speaker as she is blissfully unaware of the dangers of the world and marks down their actions as a mistake.
“Smudge” is a word choice that emphasises that although the classroom has made these figures disappear it has not done so completely, the children still have these figures in their mind and realise their danger.
“A xylophone’s nonsense heard from another room”
This personification emphasises how the environment is one where the children are free to make mistakes and emphasises the safe, protected and nurturing environment of the classroom as the children learn and develop new talents.
“Inky tadpoles changed from commas to exclamation marks”
Metaphor comparing writing to tadpoles sticks with the theme of school and develops ideas about the smaller more reclusive commas turning into more bold exclamation marks symbolising the growth of the children over the easter break.
Word choice of “tadpoles” has connotations of reproduction and growth, more adult themes than many of the children have encountered in their lives.
Word choice of “Exclamation marks” foreshadows later ideas in the poem when it is revealed to the speaker how they were born. And conveys the speaker’s shock at hearing this unwelcome information.
This conveys ideas of the theme of change as the speaker attempts to shift into being more adult and take more knowledge about how the world works despite how she may not like what she finds.
“Freed by a dunce”
Word choice of “dunce” Emphasises the speakers more bold approach to life now and the desire to be treated like an adult as she resorts to using adult language the meaning of which she does not full understand. The word choice also highlights how the speaker has become more cynical as a result of loss of innocence over the easter break as a result of being away from the classroom environment.
“A rough boy told you how you were born”
Word choice of “rough boy” contrasts the earlier ideas of the colourful classroom and the laugh of a bell. As the speaker is now away from the safe and nurturing environment of the classroom and is now out in the playground learning the facts of life. This portrays the loss of innocence of the speaker as she now seeks knowledge that the answer to which she will not like.
“You kicked him”
Word choice of “kicked” conveys the speaker’s deliberate rejection of this newfound knowledge and symbolises the loss of her innocence and protection from the outside world as her entire world view crumbles at this knowledge and she feels conflicted about how to process this information and perhaps guilty as she now feels the burden of this knowledge.
“But stared at your parents, appalled, when you got home”
Parenthesis of “,appalled,” acts to emphasise the feeling of horror that the speaker is experiencing as her entire world view disintegrates before her eyes. This conveys the theme of loss of innocence as she can no longer look at her parents in the same way that she used to and this new information is a burden to her.
