Exploring Religious and Mythological Allusions in Poetry: A Comparative Analysis
Analyzing the works of Edwin Morgan, this study delves into the religious and mythological allusions present in his poems "Snack Bar" and "Trio." Through similarities in themes, settings, and characters, the poetic devices used to reference Greek mythology and religious narratives are examined, shedding light on Morgan's poetic ingenuity.
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8 Mark Question Edwin Morgan
This can be: A comparing/contrast question Ask you to discuss another poem(s) by the same poet. The question will select what it wants you to look at, it might be a common theme, an opening, an effective ending etc.
Look for: Common themes Similar or contrasting beginnings/endings ALWAYS READ THE QUESTION THOROUGHLY.
Similarities Snack Bar and Trio Quickly establish a real life setting Are instamatic brief moments captured in time as they unfold Use present tense to give a sense of immediacy/ instantaneous. Involve a journey. Have characters that are observed by strangers and who have a lasting impact on the narrator. Create a sensory experience for the reader. Both contain religious analogies. Both contain allusions to Greek mythology.
Religious Allusions Trio - The three wise men following the star on journey to Bethlehem with gifts for baby Jesus. In the Snack Bar - Stranger and persecuted/ disabled man s journey to toilet reminds us of the starngerwho helped Jesus bear his cross on the road to Calvary although this is more like a descent to hell than Heaven (however toilets are sparkling white)
Greek Mythology Trio Orphean sprig! In Greek mythology Orphean was a poet and musician who had the power to move inanimate objects. He rescued his lover from hell in Greek legend. In the Snack Bar - The reverse journey reminds us of the myth of Sisyphus: a sinner condemned in Tartarus (a Hell-like place in Greek mythology) to an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill then watching it roll back down again. Simple things for us are, to the old man like huge, heroic actions.
TWO TYPES OF QUESTION ADVICE on how to answer
Comparison Example questions: With close textual reference, show how the ideas and/or language used when presenting the theme of love in this poem are similar and/or different to the way love is explored in another poem or poems by Duffy. Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. With close textual reference, discuss in what ways this poem is similar to another poem or poems by Morgan you have studied. You may refer to ideas and/or language in your answer.
Another Poem(s) Questions Choose another poem by Carol Ann Duffy which explores the theme of love. Show how the poet explores the theme in your chosen poem. Visiting Hour is a deeply personal and emotional poem. Choose a similar poem by MacCaig and explain how he conveys strong emotions in that poem. In this poem, Morgan takes an everyday, ordinary situation and transforms it into something special and thought-provoking. Choose another poem by him in which he does the same thing and explain how he adds significance to an ordinary event.
How to Answer Comparison Question Option 1 Comparison Question Option 2 Identify an area of similarity and explain briefly how it is conveyed in each poem. Identify what both poems have in common (2) Quote from first comparative poem and explain how it links to question then explain use of techniques (2) Support this point with evidence from first poem (from exam) and explain the technique and its effectiveness. Quote from second poem and explain how it links to question then explain use of techniques (2) Support this point with evidence from the other poem of your choice and explain the technique and its effectiveness. Choose from third comparative poem and explain how it links to question then explain use of techniques (2) Repeat this process for another area of similarity. OR (or if you can t think of third identify another feature, idea, technique that both have in common and quote and explain from each. (2)
Another Poem Question (PEE x 4) Another Poem(s) Question (PEE X 4) Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2) Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2) Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2) Identify a POINT that links to the question. Example Explain (2)
How to answer (from SQA Marking guidelines) Candidates may choose to answer in bullet points in this final question, or write a number of linked statements. There is no requirement to write a mini essay . Up to 2 marks can be achieved for identifying elements of commonality as identified in the question. A further 2 marks can be achieved for reference to the extract given. 4 additional marks can be awarded for similar references to at least one other text/part of the text by the writer.
In practice this means: Identification of commonality (2) (eg: theme, central relationship, importance of setting, use of imagery, development in characterisation, use of personal experience, use of narrative style, or any other key element...)
From the extract 1 x relevant reference to technique (1) 1 x appropriatecomment (1) (maximum of 2 marks only for discussion of extract) OR 1 x relevant reference to idea (1) 1 x appropriatecomment (1) from at least one other text/part of the text: as above (x 2) for up to 4 marks OR 1 x relevant reference to feature (1) 1 x appropriatecomment (1) OR 1 x relevant reference to text (1) 1 x appropriatecomment (1)
Worked Comparison Question Option 1 In the Snack Bar explores important social issues. With close textual reference, discuss in what ways this poem is similar to another poem or poems by Morgan you have studied. You may refer to ideas and/or language in your answer.
Snack Bar and Good Friday Step 1 Mention the specific area of commonality and include what poem(s) you will be discussing. (2 marks) In the Snack Bar and Good Friday by Edwin Morgan are both poems which explore the lack of concern society has for those who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. In the Snack Bar follows a severely disabled man in his attempt to navigate a Glaswegian snack bar, ignored by most around him. Good Friday shows the lack of assurance even the narrator can give a man as he drunkenly asks about the nature of religion during Easter.
Step 2 Make a specific reference to the poem in front of you (quote) and link to the question mention techniques and effect. (2 marks) In In the Snack Bar Morgan portrays the infirm man who is mostly ignored by those around him. Only a few heads turn when the man knocks over a cup in his efforts to stand up. Here, Morgan s use of the contrast of the word few in the crowded snack bar emphasise the lack of notice or care the patrons have for the man, even in his long blind, hunchback born, half-paralysed state, as Morgan draws our attention to with his list of the man s ailments later in the poem, clearly indicating how vulnerable and weak this man is.
Step 3 Make a reference to another poem and link to the question again, mention techniques and their effect. (2 marks) In Good Friday , the man who flops down beside our narrator is also vulnerable, in the sense that he is drunk during the day ( 3pm ) and is self-conscious over his lack of education ( he s jist bliddy ignorant ). The repetition used in some of his questions, such as ye understand ye understand? emphasise his need for understanding and acceptance from this stranger on a bus. Morgan also uses parenthesis here to break up this line, indicating the man s broken language due to his drunken state, as well as inferring that the narrator, and others he may address, have not given him the reassurance that he needs.
Step 4 Make a reference to another poem and link to the question again, mention techniques and their effect. (2 marks) Despite repeated questions from the man, such as I m no boring you, eh? and see what I mean? , the narrator never appears to reply to him unlike the narrator who actively helps the old man in In the Snack Bar . The constant questions highlight the man s need for reassurance, but in providing no response, Morgan highlights how society is willing to ignore the desire
Now You Try -Snack Bar and Trio Option 2 Potential introduction (but not required) In the Snack Bar and Trio are both poems that establish use techniques effectively to create setting, capture a moments in the present tense and involve a journey of the poem. In the Snack Bar takes place in a crowded caf , as an old, disabled man attempts to make his way to the downstairs toilet, amidst the ignorance of those around him. Moran uses this incident to make a comment on the apathy of society in relation to the vulnerable. Trio observes the journey of three friends travelling through Buchannan Street at Christmas time under the Christmas lights, as they are observed by an unknown narrator who takes joy from the event.
Both In the Snack Bar and Trio have a sense of immediacy through use of the present tense. In the Snack Bar: A cup capsizes along the formica this makes the falling cup seem more urgent and allows the reader to feel involved in the action. The use of alliteration here helps us to picture the cup rolling and we can almost hear the hard c sound, which grabs the readers attention. Capsizes make the action seem quite dramatic, although ironically nobody seems to care. This represents the lack of care that society has for what is happening around them, which is the point Morgan is making. Similarly, in Trio: Coming up Buchanan St makes the reader seem involved as you feel as though you are there witnessing the bustling city centre crowds. We can relate to the setting as it is a well known, commercial street. The inverted word order places emphasis on coming up depicting theaction first and giving the sense that the trio are moving up through the street and are excited to be in this setting, as reinforced by the adverb quickly.
Step 2 Now you try Another technique that is used in the opening on In the Snack Bar and Trio is effective word choice to describe the setting. In In the Snack Bar
Both poems also contain journey for each of the main characters. In the Snack Bar depicts
