Comparison of In Mrs. Tilscher's Class and Originally

Comparison of In Mrs. Tilscher's Class and Originally

‘In Mrs Tilscher’s class’ and ‘Originally’ are poems about the

journey of life and the change from childhood into adulthood. Although

‘Originally’ is more traumatic there are many similarities between the

two poems. They are both about moving on both spiritually and

mentally, and explore ideas about identity and emigration.

‘In Mrs Tilscher’s Class’ is a poem about the metaphorical journey

throughout a young child’s school year. The first verse of the poem

has a joyful tone; the narrator of the poem seems happy and full of

delight. It is written from a young girl’s perspective on the things

that take place in the course of the school year. The young girl who

is narrating the poem explains to the reader both the things that she

liked and disliked.

The poem is written in chronological order and the different verses of

the poem represent different periods throughout the school year.

The first verse of the poem starts with:

‘You could travel up the Blue Nile with your finger, tracing the route

while Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery’.

This creates a vivid picture of the children tracing the route of the

Nile on a map while Mrs Tilscher described the scenery and

surroundings to the children. After learning about the Nile and its

surroundings for an hour the children paused for a break to drink a

‘skittle of milk’. A skittle of milk was a small glass bottle

containing 1/3 pint of milk. Children used to refer to it as a

‘skittle’ because that is what it looked like. This shows the

children’s innocence and immaturity.

Verse two describes how much the narrator loved being in Mrs

Tilscher’s class. It is described as being ‘better than home’. ‘The

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used is very clear as it explains how the parents are feeling.

‘I want my own country, I said’

This line sums up just how young and immature the narrator is. It is

written in italics to give effect, to make it stand out because this

line has great meaning to it.

The third verse describes the girl reminiscing on how she felt

adapting to the changes.

‘You forget, or don’t recall, or change, and seeing your brother

swallow a slug, feel only a skelf of shame.’

She is now starting to fit in but still feels a sense of loss. ‘I

remember my tongue shedding its skin like a snake’. This simile is

very descriptive and you can vividly picture a snake shedding its

skin. This corresponds to the changes the narrator is going through. I

think she now feels embarrassed about the way she used to speak. She

hesitates when asked where she originally came from.