The Steelworks, Flashcards
Describe the title.
It is a pun. The comma connects it to the rest of the poem.
What did the steelworks at Ebbw Vale represent?
The pride and importance once held by Wales as an ideal site for manufacturing goods. As Britain’s focus shifted away from being a factory nation, the town lost its importance and its identity as an important industrial area.
What imagery is resurrected from ‘Flag’?
The ‘Swansea gym’ we encountered in ‘Flag’ is resurrected here in the imagery of the labourers in the lifting bays.
Describe the shift in pride.
Now they can no longer take pride in their country, they have started to take pride in their physical appearance and go about their manual tasks in the name of vanity rather than productivity.
How does Sheers depict Wales?
Clearly Sheers sees this as a bleak development in the story of Wales with the harsh depiction of the ‘brushed-metal sky’ suggesting that everything has become superficial.
