Andrew's corner

what is the poem about + title

how different perspectives view the same place

“Andrew”-> name can mean different things for anyone which emphasises the idea of perspective

“corner”-> small part of the world but could mean a lot to some people

What is the theme of paragraph 1

how one single old man views this place

“practise standing still, tutting”

stanza starts with a Roman 1 which reflect different perspectives

“practise”-> doing the same thing over and over again, routine, reveals boredom and sameness

alliteration of the t sound-> emphasises the sameness of his routine

“fought to keep gone”

“fought”-> aggressive connotations, reveals his potential anger for change because all of his life “fought” for routine

half rhyme of “gone” and “sixty years on”-> struggles to belong

“keep gone”-> desires routine because all that he ever known

“,sixty years on,”

separated with two caesuras-> could suggest sameness and his desire for routine, also looks like grave stone which could reference WW2 because he “fought” for this place and now it’s changing

homogeneity-> keeping things the same

“speed of an age”

“speed”-> sense of time passing quickly aka ageing, could suggest that his time for death is close and he can’t adapt to this “speed”

“an age”-> indefinete article “an” creates anonymity and unsureness and “age” suggests time passing which could reveal there is a new era that he isn’t prepared for

“old man”

“old”-> inadaptable desires routine, wants things to stay the same because can’t accept change

what is the theme of paragraph 2

how the younger generation may see “Andrew’s corner” and the youth culture around it

“where flowers moulder”

“flowers”-> symbol of youth, beauty and love, all qualities that you discover when you grow up

“moulder”-> slowly decaying, contrast of death and life which is “flowers”, could suggest how extreme youth and puberty can sometimes be

“memory of Tash, fifteen,”

“Tash”-> name, makes this more personal and creates different meaning

“memory”-> suggests that “Tash” died, personal language

“fifteen”-> young, didn’t get to grow up life quickly changes

repetition of caesuras could symbolise a grave stone but also that her life stopped while her “twenty something boyfriend” kept living

“girls own their grown woman outfits”

alliteration of the guttural g sound could suggest how fast this generation is growing up and changing

“own”-> symbolises the pride the “girls” feel because they are “grown” which for them it means that they are more attractive and they have the independence to do what they want

“grown”-> have independence and freedom, contrast to the first stanza because “old man” disapproves change while they desire it

syntax of “girls” and “woman” presents the separation between those two growing up periods but also the speed of growing up

“outfits”-> outfit is something impermeable and it can get put on and off at the same time, reveals that at the end of the day the “girls” are still not adults

“twenty-something boyfriend”

“twenty-something”-> indefinite language presented in “something” which could reveal how a bad influence can lead to bad consequences, unhealthy power dynamic

“your mum”

slang term which references youth culture

could reveal that even if they are growing up the “mum” and past childhood will always be present in their life’s

what is the theme of paragraph 3

how “Andrew’s corner” compares to something on a much larger scale such as a big city

“wrappers", “meat”, “pump”

miscellaneous object that represent city life, parts of a whole picture, one person doesn’t define one part of the city

“van pulled up and it was blood”

“blood”-> violent connotations, something occurred because ends in an end-stop which suggest finality and potential death

“van pulled up”-> the “van” could be an ambulance so there is why it’s blood, casual language of “van” could suggest that death happens frequently which is different to “andrew’s corner” where there is a ceremony

“dodge a dead pigeon”

alliteration of d suggest the speed of time passing

“dead pigeon”-> small death of an insignificant thing highlighted while never know what happens to “van”, represents city life because never know what happens

“inviolable sleep.”

“inviolable”-> means to yearn for something, suggest that at the end of a difficult day everyone desires a routine

end with a full-stop of “sleep” which suggest finality and time passing of one day into another because life goes on even whey you are asleep