The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team

Question 1

What perspective is the poem from and who is the speaker?

Answer 1

-Male narrative
-Ego-centric narrative
-Obsessed with identity, the past, the power he once had
-Seen as an obsessive, boasful and conceited

Question 2

What structure does the poem have?

Answer 2

Octet, same length stanzas with an organised structure to emphasise the monotomous rhythm of his repeated story of his experience as captain, suggesting the common occurance of his boastful performance.

Question 3

What themes are present in the poem?

Answer 3

Time, loss, memory, nostalgia

Question 4

Describe what happens in the poem

Answer 4

First stanza- Intertextual references from songs of 1964, reminiscing about knowledge of music, boasting about romances
Second stanza- Answers to potential questions, values skill and praise over knowledge, bragging about achievements
Third stanza- His mother kept his mascot, patriotic attitude, describes places with prominent figures to compare himself
Fourth stanza- Unhappy with family, desperate for his title back, misses who he used to be, back to reality, ends in a question, How many florins in a pound?, which is outdated and archaic language

Question 5

What are the common techniques?

Answer 5

Intertextual references
Epoch markers
Guteral alliteration
Emphatic stress
Past tense
Enjambment