the captain if the 1964 top of the form team quotes Flashcards
alliteration has been used here. shows that the persona was in a competition when he was younger. They have obviously done very wellas they are in the top of their chart. clearly sets the scene for the rest of poem
“Top Ten that month, October”
a metaphor has been used here to show the persona’s lively childhood they had. the use of the word “lived” shows that it has passed. the persona is seeming to reminicise over his enjoyable life as a child. “fizzing” has connotations of being bubbly and full of life. so too the writer is suggesting that the persona was very active as a child. tone of this line almost seen as jealousy of his own past
“I lived in a fizzing kind of hope”
technique used is called a transferred epithet. It gives a human quality to an object. shows that every piece of the persona is smart - even his satchel. He regards himself as smart, therefore enforcing that he is a bit arrogant, giving us the audience a deeper understanding of the persona created
“the clever smell of my satchel”
here we see that the persona is showing off the extent of his knowledge. again we get a better understanding of his personality. He is written to be cocky and arrogant, as also shown in the first stanza. the use of the word “knew” shows that the persona is referring to an earlier aspect if his life. Again, he may be possibly jealous of his life as a child. the list used shows that the persona could go on and on of the topics he knows
“i knew the capitals, the kings and queens, the dates”
shows his respect of education and learning. writer uses personification here. clearly reinforces idea of persona being arrogant. shows his enthusiasm of learning
“the white sleeve of my shirt saluted again and again.’Sir!’…‘Correct.’”
shows that he was enjoying life in the period of his childhood. Shows he has no care in the world - “no hands” “famous” clearly shows that in this time of his life he was known for the quiz show. “dominus domine dominum” - all translate as “powerful” from latin. shows repetition and his superior thinking
“i sped down Dyke hill no hands, famous, learning dominus domine dominum”
here duffy has used a metaphor to convey persona’s arrogance. he comes across from this line as if he is fresh and clean with intelligence. helps develop our understanding of his personality
“i look so brainy you’d think i’d just had a bath”
here the persona, as a child, is full of enthusiasm. shows that he keeps on reinforcing the idea that he was happy and active as a child. maybe a contrast to what is to come in stanza 4. again helps our understanding develop
“i ran to the Spinney in my prize shoes”
back then he felt as if he was going to have it all back when he was older. he seems to think that the past as another country. “the past is another country” helps to show that the past of life is something else. again helps to deepen our understanding
“My country”
shift in tone from rest of poem. the persona longs for past glories. again persona’s arrogance shows through. the short sentence structure adds to the tone.
“i want it back. The captain. The one with all the answers.”
contrasts with fizzing hope . Duffy uses personification. Through her careful language techniques. the wife may not be dumb as the persona puts it across, but merely dumb enough for her husbands standards. shows complete arrogance. helps understanding grow
“i say to my stale wife”
poem ends on an anti climax. no one answers his out dated questions. sense of hopelessness in this line. he seems like he has given up trying to ask his questions. he just wants his childhood back.
“How many florins in a pound?”
(last quote for first stanza) The persona seemed to want to imitate Mick Jagger - the top musician back then. He wanted to be like the fellow rockstar. He imitated him by “blew like Mick” showing that he was one of those kids who really aspired to be as great as the music artist of that time
“I pulled my hair forward with a steel comb that I blew like Mick”
(Last quote for second stanza) It is clearly evident that the persona seems to reflect on his childhood as if he remincises it with the tone and language used by Duffy. He seemed thrilled and enjoying the days as a kid
“I whopped at the side of my bike, cowboy, mounted it in one jump”
(last quote for third stanza) From the use of this quote it is clear that the persona misses his glory days as a child as he won competitions. He comes across quite cocky in him expressing his feelings about his childhood
“The blazer. The badge. The tie”
