The Class Game- by Mary Casey

Question 1

The Class Game:
Who is this poem by?

Answer 1

Mary Casey

Question 2

The Class Game:
What is the meaning of this poem?

Answer 2

-she is proud of her class and is critical of people judging their class through their appearance and behaviour.
-social stereotypes

Question 3

The Class Game:
What is the form here?

Answer 3

-Free Verse
-Monologue- provides an identity and builds sympathy.

Question 4

The Class Game:
“How can you tell what class I’m from?”
What is analysis of this quote?

Answer 4

-Refrain Immediately introduces the theme of class ,and by opening with a rhetorical question, the poet is instantly challenging stereotypes and expectations of labelling and class within society. Cyclically relates to the final line “And I’m proud of the class that I come from”.
-Direct Address

Question 5

The Class Game:
“Why do you care what class I’m from?”
What is analysis of this quote?

Answer 5

-Variation of refrain.
-The poet is very blatant in her frustration and anger that she is repeatedly labelled due her class ,to suggest she is trying to ‘reclaim’ her label. The exclamative punctuation mark also emphasises the defiant tone.

Question 6

The Class Game:
“Me say ‘Tara’ to me ‘Ma’ instead of ‘Bye Mummy dear’?”
What is analysis of this quote?

Answer 6

-Implies that difference in diction and colloquialisms means that she feels distanced from the rest of the society she lives in.
-Sarcasm- mocks the class system to expose the hypocrisy and futility of class separation.

Question 7

The Class Game:
What is the context of this poem?

Answer 7

-Despite the wartime attitude of ‘everyone being in it together’, post-war Britain was still intensely divided in terms of class. There was still a large wealth gap between those belonging to the working class, and those belonging to the upper and middle classes (similar to An Inspector Calls)