Exploring Themes in Mrs. Tilscher's Class by Carol Ann Duffy
Delve into the enriching symbolism of fertility in "In Mrs. Tilscher’s Class" by Carol Ann Duffy, where the classroom transforms into a vibrant haven filled with innocence and joy. Through vivid imagery and poignant metaphors, the poem captures the essence of childhood experiences, blending nostalgia with a sense of growth and change.
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IN MRS TILSCHER S CLASS CAROL ANN DUFFY
Geography class. Symbolism fertility, the river brings crops. Egypt desert, Nile bursts its banks annually. Universal experience. Second person. Draws reader in making them feel part of it. Tactile. Innocent tone, happy/ childlike. You could travel up the Blue Nile with your finger, tracing the route while Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery. Tana. Ethiopia. Khartoum. Aswan. That for an hour, then a skittle of milk and the chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust. A window opened with a long pole. The laugh of a bell swung by a running child. Short/sharp sentences. repeating the teacher? Assonance. Exotic places. Suggests repetition, possibly boredom (monotonous). Could be relaxing, harmonious safety and security of the classroom. Two meanings black boards and Pyramids. Metaphor shape of the milk bottle. Milk used to be drunk in schools every day, a third of a pint per child, until Mrs Thatcher, when Minister of Education in the 1970s, abolished it, for which she earned the name from her political enemies, "Mrs Thatcher, Milk Snatcher". New lessons, out with the old. Idea of movement, change. Personification sounds happy. Fun, innocence. School days were joyful days.
Bold statement. Classroom better than home. Simile brightness, colourful. Joy/happiness. Enticing to children. Positive word choice enjoyable. Idea of loving school. Tone of security and warmth. She knew you. Odd Myra Hindley, Ian Brady child murderers. Symbolic of darkness. Faded get rid of the grown up elements at that age. She was able to erase the threat of adulthood/reality. An introduction to the outside world? This was better than home. Enthralling books. The classroom glowed like a sweetshop. Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. Brady and Hindley faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake. Mrs Tilscher loved you. Some mornings, you found she'd left a good gold star by your name. The scent of a pencil slowly, carefully, shaved. A xylophone's nonsense heard from another form. Alliteration. Positive recognition. Pride praise you remember. Simile - she was able to erase the threat of adulthood/reality. Innocence. Snapshot images. Sensory classroom (smell/sound). Strong memories.
Inky suggests dark colours of tadpoles, like a blob of ink. Inkiness (metaphor) water is stained, dirtiness coming in. In contrast to previous verses. Tadpoles symbolic of change. Suggests shape. Also a small pause to drama and surprise. Notion of a big change/growth/maturity/fertility. Time has passed. Verbs action in the playground. Lively/ light hearted. Over the Easter term the inky tadpoles changed from commas into exclamation marks. Three frogs hopped in the playground, freed by a dunce, followed by a line of kids, jumping and croaking away from the lunch queue. A rough boy told you how you were born. You kicked him, but stared at your parents, appalled, when you got back home. Extended metaphor children are likened to the frogs. They have matured from tadpoles in to frogs. The children are physically and emotionally changing too. Rejects this idea. Crude interjections. Matter of fact tone. The rough boy a bad boy reveals the facts of life. Contrast with what is taught in the classroom and what is learned in the playground. Appalled negative word/ emotional. Horrified at hearing what the boy has said. Also quite comical, universal feeling/experience. Disjointed syntax of the final sentence reflects the shock felt by the child. The sense that you can t go back.
Discomfort in body (puberty) associated with the summer. Images of passion and sexual frustration. Irritable/volatile. Growing up over the summer. Hot/ humid atmosphere. Stick/stuffy in the classroom (uncomfortable). Tangible you can feel it(touch). Alarm contrasts with the bell laughing . Atmosphere is alive/charged. That feverish July, the air tasted of electricity. A tangible alarm made you always untidy, hot, fractious under the heavy, sexy sky. You asked her how you were born and Mrs Tilscher smiled, then turned away. Reports were handed out. You ran through the gates, impatient to be grown, as the sky split open into a thunderstorm. Frustration at not getting answers. Lack of response. Might signify her discomfort, her duties are coming to an end. Lack of knowledge and understanding of sex. Entry to freedom. Excited about leaving. Use of You to involve us? So we remember it ourselves. Sounds violent, even painful. Desire to go to secondary school. No longer enthralled in her lessons. Metaphor for realisation of the facts of life.
AN EIGHT MARK QUESTION Poem: In Mrs Tilscher sClass Question: By referring to this poem, and any other by Carol Ann Duffy, show how she explores the theme of change.
