Toads Flashcards
(16 cards)
title analysis
extended metaphor that has two sides
1) hatred
2) desire
squat on my life
hard work = a burden
causes a degree of pain
six days of the week it…
sibilance
emphatic of the disgust and distaste for work
for paying a few bills!
mention the voice of the speaker
exclamative suggests aggression
the voice is one of anger
lecturers
he is envious of those who don’t have a ‘real’ job - those who are academics and are funded by other people to study rather than work
losers, loblolly-men…
demeans them out of frustration that he has to work and they do not
they seem to like it
controversial statement
not because Larkin himself believes it but because the voice of the speaker in the poem is becoming increasingly angry - uncontrollable
their unspeakable wives
derogatory - demeans them out of frustration again
stuff your pension!
exclamative hightened emotion
but I know, all to well…
soft volta
explores second voice
desire for work
that’s the stuff that dreams are made on
intertextual reference to the Tempest
suggests that he is never going to give up work because not working wouldn’t make him happy
squats in me too
work is part of his identity
the fame and the girl and the money
syndeton
criticises people who want these material possessions without having to work
what A03 could link to ‘the fame and the girl and the money’
the growing influence of The American Dream and American consumerism on 1950s Britain
final two lines
balanced statement
he will always hate work but always need it
structural comments
Quatrains - rigidity of working life
ABAB - balance between tow ideas and the two voices of the speaker
