Paul Durcan - Wife Who Smashed Televison Gets Jail Flashcards
How does the poem read
Like a news report or court transcript
Typical maple of a public poem by durcan with a pseudo journalistic style and headline like title
A quote for peacefully watching tv
Me and the kids were peaceably watching Kojak / when she marched into the living room and declared
“Peaceably watching kojak when she marched in and declared “ what’s does this indicate
They peacefully watched a violent tv programme
Children watched this violent tv programme
The wife is angry as she “marched into the living room and declared”
She threatens violence
Tv shows violence but so does she
How does tv promote violence? Q
After shooting a dame with the same name as my wife / snarled at the corpse - goodnight queen maeve
Who was queen maeve
A Celtic queen who killed her husbands to marry other men
How is the father addicted to tv? Q
I had to bring the kids round to my mother’s place; / we got there just before the finish of kojak
How does husband react to wife smashing tv
Goes to mother house
Regular occurance? She tidys up as if nothing happens
Lack of reaction shows zombification by tv and that this violence wasn’t completely unusual on wife’s behalf
Wife’s opinion quote
I don’t see why my kids or anybody else’s kids / should have a television for a father or mother
What’s ironic about the wife’s opinion
She doesn’t want the tv to promote violence to her kids yet she comes in drunk and smashes the telly, displaying bad behaviour
What does the wife think they should do instead of watch television? Q
Better off all down at the pub talking / or playing billiards
How is the mothers opinion right and wrong
Taking - what families should do, but in a pub?
They could be exposed to more violence down there
Durcan forces us to consider the better option tv/pub
He inverts norms of man being head of family - coming home drunk and wrecking something . Highlights mens’ actions
Tv is family member quote
The television itself could be said to be a basic unit of the family
Why is tv a member of the family
It brings them together - they congregate around it to watch eg gogglebox
Tv no longer has this role as such
Teaches children as do parents/Siblings
