POETRY: in mrs tilscher's class Flashcards
all answer segments in italics are copied from the sqa's official marking scheme from 2019
**You **could travel up the Blue Nile/
YOU - ss, direct address, invites reader to remember
/ - ss, enjambement, suggests the motion of moving along the length of the river
‘could’ and ‘Blue Nile’ suggest the limitless possibilities of imagination.
with your finger, tracing the route
TRACING - wc, sensory description, suggests careful following of Mrs T’s instruction
‘with your finger’ simplicity of statement suggests the childish thrill of this experience.
while Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery.
CHANTED - wc, suggests repetition, memorising, evocative teaching method + magic. suggesting spell cast by Mrs T over the speaker
Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswan.
FULL LINE - ss, minor sentences and list, foreign sounding places engages children and their love of learning
That for an hour, then a skittle of milk
THAT FOR AN HOUR - wc? suggests routine and security
SKITTLE - wc, suggests playful, happy mood and a game
SKITTLE OF MILK - ima, metaphor, suggests shape of bottle, also fun and games, develops exciting nature of the class.
and the chalky pyramids rubbed into dust.
CHALKY - wc, suggests old fashioned teaching methods
PYRAMIDS + DUST - wc, suggest passage of time
PYRAMIDS RUBBED INTO DUST - ima, rubbed off board in class, suggests speaker’s engagement in lesson but the lesson has to end (passage of time)
‘chalky…dust’ suggests the magical evocation of reality in the blackboard drawings, as perceived by the speaker.
A window opened with a long pole. (no analysis)
n/a
The laugh of a bell **swung by a running child.
LAUGH OF A BELL - ima, personification mirrors speaker’s happy mood, creates joyful atmosphere. projects her laughter onto bell
SWUNG + RUNNING - wc, energetic words suggest energy, happy carefree world, safety and security
This was better than home. Enthralling books.
THIS WAS BETTER THAN HOME - ss, short dramatic statement, emphasises her love for learning - a safe, happy and exciting space. foreshadows issues with parents discussed later in poem.
ENTHRALLING - wc, suggests she finds books captivating and magical
ENTHRALLING BOOKS - ss, short sentence emphasises passion for learning
The classroom glowed like a sweet shop.
GLOWED - wc, suggests warmth, brightness and security
THE CLASSROOM GLOWED LIKE A SWEET SHOP - simile, suggests classroom is full of colourful displays to trigger the children’s imagination
Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. Brady and Hindley/
SUGAR PAPER. COLOURED SHAPES. - ss, minor sentences emphasises visual appeal of the class - room suggests class is warm and vibrant.
BRADY AND HINDLEY - ss, word placement emphasises fear at the edge of consciousness, faded (next line) suggests security of the class in relation to external dangers
faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake.
FADED - wc and ss, aliteration w faint emphasises power of classroom to distract, Mrs T makes her students feel safe, but the memories linger
SMUDGE - wc suggests persisting external threats and dangers
FADED…OF A MISTAKE - ima, just as a smudge is a failed attempt at rubbing out an error, so the children cannot forget a child murderer and danger in society
Mrs Tilscher loved you. Some mornings, you found/
MRS TILSCHER LOVED YOU - ss, simple statement emphasises the speaker’s certainty of teacher’s ability to make students feel valued and treasured.
she’d left a good gold star by your name.
GOOD GOLD STAR - ima, aliteration makes phrase stand out to emphasise speaker’s youth and pride, transferred epiphet.
‘a good gold star’ — build-up of positive vocabulary suggests the thrill of being valued, tangibly conveyed by Mrs Tilscher.
The scent of a pencil, slowly, carefully shaved.
SLOWLY, CAREFULLY - wc, adverbs suggests emphasis placed on writing, pride in the speaker’s own work and Mrs T’s way of doing things properly
