The Context of Unrelated Incidents

798 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction to analyzing poetry

The Context of Unrelated Incidents

What is from Unrelated Incidents about?

this is thi

six a clock

news thi

man said n

thi reason

a talk wia

BBC accent

iz coz yi

widny wahnt

mi ti talk

aboot thi

trooth wia

voice lik

wanna yoo

scruff. if

a toktaboot

thi trooth

lik wanna yoo

scruff yi

widny thingk

it wuz troo.

jist wanna yoo

scruff tokn.

thirza right

way ti spell

ana right way

to tok it. this

is me tokn yir

right way a

spellin. this

is ma trooth.

yooz doant no

thi trooth

yirsellz cawz

yi canny talk

right. this is

the six a clock

nyooz. belt up.

* The poem seems to be spoken by a BBC newsreader.

* He or she explains why the BBC thinks it is important to read the

news in a BBC accent: no one will take the news seriously if it's

read with a voice lik / wanna yoo / scruff.

It is not that simple, though!

* He or she speaks here in the accent of an ordinary speaker/viewer

- just the kind of voice which the newsreader is rejecting.

* A newsreader would never really reveal his or her prejudices

directly to the viewer in this way. So what the newsreader 'says'

in this poem perhaps needs to be seen as the unspoken message (or

sub-text) of the way the news is presented.

Try re-writing the same poem in Standard English. Would it carry the

same trooth?

Structure and Language

Structure

The poem is carefully written in a phonetic version of the Glasgow

accent. If you pronounce it exactly as it's written, it should sound

more or less like a Glaswegian voice. Try to listen to Tom Leonard's

own reading of this poem, which is on the BBC TV programme Roots and

Water: Poems from Other Cultures and Traditions.

Language

The poet has played with language in a number of ways, apart from the

phonetic spelling:

* There is almost no punctuation.

* There are lots of slang and colloquial words (scruff, belt up).

* The newsreader talks directly to the reader (or viewer).

How do these features add to the effectiveness of the poem? For

example, there is a mismatch between the conventional image of BBC

newsreaders, and what this one is saying - calling the viewers yoo

scruff and telling them to belt up.

The lines of the poem are very short. What effect does this have

(especially when you read it aloud)? Does it make the poem sound

serious or amusing?

Tone and Ideas

How would you read this poem?

* Is it an amusing poem?

* Is it a serious poem?

Perhaps it is both.

Is the poet arguing that this is actually the way the media think

about us?

Show More
Related

  • The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die and Race Relations Light Years from the Earth

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Having the author’s purpose is vital to knowing how informative, opinionated, or factual the article ...

    Read More

  • Katherine Anne Ackley's Perspectives On Contemporary Issues: Seventh Edition

    347 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Katherine Anne Ackley’s book, “Perspectives on Contemporary Issues: Seventh Edition”, chapter one instructed the reader how to read critically. Reading critically is defined as the process of making a rhetorical analysis, or examination, of a piece of work. First, a reader must read a piece of work to understand it, then they must be able to assess, or criticize, it. To do so, the reader should examine the author’s position, and the evidence provided to support that position. They should also be able to discern between logical and illogical pieces of evidence. Reading critically can be used to write summaries, critiques, arguments, synthesis’, and research papers.

    Read More

  • The Closing of the American Book by Andrew Solomon

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Andrew Solomon has some valid arguments in his article, and he tries to persuade the readers through logos, pathos, and ethos. Solomon wants the readers to understand the importance of reading, and how its decline can be harmful to the nation. To reinforce his arguments, Solomon shares a variety of examples, for instance, he mentions that reading helps improve memory and concentration, and the decline of reading is causing mental “atrophy.” He also calls upon the readers to take some sort of action to raise reading rates and help the society. This can grant the readers a form of power and control over the crisis that will lead to an em...

    Read More

  • Reading and Thought by Dwight MacDonald

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article “Reading and Thought” the author Dwight MacDonald provides criticism and disagreement with Henry Luce’s idea of “functional curiosity”. Luce developed the term “functional curiosity” defining it as an eagerness of people to know the latest news happening around the world. On the other hand, MacDonald concludes that functional curiosity only strengthens reader’s practice in reading rather than in providing invaluable information. He underlines that literature nowadays is deficient and insubstantial since there is no deep meaning in the texts. Modern printed literature is simply being skimmed through by the reader as the reader nowadays tends to avoid too much information resisting thinking in such a way. Because of the new nature of the printed materials, MacDonald considers today’s reading behavior and the way people think as flimsy and indifferent. I agree that our thought has definitively changed since we are paying less time to serious critical thinking losing connections with society and awareness of it.

    Read More

  • Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Any critical reading of a text will be strengthened by a knowledge of how a text is valued by readers in differing contexts."

    Read More

  • Is Google Making USupid? By Nicholas Carr

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stating that the scholars examined computer logs documenting the behavior of visitors who chose two sites that have several information outlets. The results showed that people showed a form of ‘skimming activity’, which supports him main argument of having troubles with deep reading (737). Further down on the same page, he states “It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of ‘reading’ are emerging as users ‘power browse’ horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.” This statement supports his pathos appeal of how the reader will be able to relate to it, including himself. Another pathos tactic would be when he states “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” A use of imagery to differ how he used to be able to thoroughly read a book, rather than now due to the convenience of the internet. An ethos appeal is when he uses a quote of Maryanne Wolf, an author, and a developmental psychologist at Tufts University, “We are not only what we read, though we are how we read. (737)” This is yet an additional credible support to his

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dana Gioia's 'Why Literature Matters'

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Why Literature Matters” the author, Dana Gioia, argues that literature is very important in today’s society. He talks about the decline of reading over the years and the effects it has on different companies and communities. Gioia uses many persuasive techniques, such as evidence, jingoism, and diction, to try and persuade the reader that literature is important.

    Read More

  • Nicholas Carr

    1549 Words  | 4 Pages

    Carr is worried. He confesses that he now has difficulty with the simple task of sitting down and reading a book. Absorbing the text is now belaboring, and he finds that his mind drifts off into other realms. Moreover, this phenomenon is not only limited to himself. Bruce Friedman, a pathologist at the University of Michigan Medical School, admits that he “can’t read War and Peace anymore…even a blog post of three or four paragraphs is too much,” (Carr). In addition, Scott Karp, a devoted blogger on online media and literature major, relates that he was an avid reader in college. Sadly, he observes the same trend in his focus as Carr and Friedman. Karp speculates that the loss of focus isn’t so much a change in the way he reads, but in the way he thinks (Carr).

    Read More

  • Breakdown of the Booze-Age Debate

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first question to ask when you read an article is the one with the most obvious answer: “Who wrote this?” This is the rhetor, and it has two parts: the author, the one who actually sat down to write the piece and whose name’s at the top of the page; and the others, those that helped the author by adding to their argument through evidence or support (Grant-Davie 269). As high school students preparing to enter the wonderful world of college research papers, it’s important to understand who’s making the points you reference in your own work, and you can do that by analyzing the rhetors. An exam...

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of an Incident in a Clinical Setting

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of this essay is to reflect and critically study an incident from a clinical setting whilst using a model of reflection. This will allow me to analyse and make sense of the incident and draw conclusions relating to personal learning outcomes. The significance of critical analysis and critical incidents will briefly be discussed followed by the process of reflection using the chosen model. The incident will then be described and analysed and the people involved introduced. (The names of the people involved have been changed to protect their privacy) and then I will examine issues raised in light of the recent literature relating to the incident. My essay will include a discussion of communication, interpersonal skills used in the incident, and finally evidence based practice. I will conclude with explaining what I have learned from the experience and how it will change my future actions.

    Read More

  • Ways of Reading and Jane Tompkins

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    " Strong readers often read critically, weighing, for example, an author claims and interpretations against evidence-evidence provided by the author in the text, evidence drawn from other sources, or the evidence that is assumed to be part of a reader's own knowledge and experience."(p.12)

    Read More

  • Investigating News and News Manipulation

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    plays a big role in the way the article is presented and what angle it

    Read More

  • Importance Of The Emoji Movie

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    … we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective,

    Read More

  • Historians' Changing Opinions of Oliver Cromwell

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is important to understand the background of the person doing the reporting of events as it can influence what they think and say.

    Read More

  • An Incident in My Life Involving Conflict

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    People face conflicts every day of their lives. We all come across at least one incident in our lives that is challenging and we are baffled on what decision is to be made. Such conflicts may be an inner-conflict, a conflict between oneself and nature, a conflict between oneself and another person, oneself and God, or one and society. This paper will describe an incident in my life involving a conflict.

    Read More

More about The Context of Unrelated Incidents

Open Document