Poetry

Across Time: Character and Voice

Key Language: connotation, imagery, metaphor, simile Structure and Form: stanzas, type, patterns, contrast, juxtaposition Poetic methods: alliteration, caesura, assonance, rhythm, rhyme Character and Voice: Who is speaking and to whom? Tone of voice Links: Comparisons to other speakers, methods and themes
Repetition of Brendon Gallacher with repeated use of contrast "He was seven and I was six." Brendon Gallacher is the speaking to an imaginary friend. He is seven years old. Brendon Gallacher He was seven and I was six, my Brendon Gallacher. He was Irish and I was Scottish, my Brendon Gallacher. Highlighting the contrast His father was in prison; he was a cat burglar. between the two fathers. My father was a Communist Party full-time worker. He had six brothers and I had one, my Brendon Gallacher. Use of enjambment in the He would hold my hand and take me by the river first and second line, link where wed talk all about his family being poor. to rivers flowing. Hed get his mum out of Glasgow when he got older. A wee holiday some place nice. Some place far. Id tell my mum about my Brendon Gallacher. Repetition. How his mum drank and his daddy was a cat burglar. And shed say, Why not have him round to dinner? No, no, Id say, hes got big holes in his trousers. I like meeting him by the burn in the open air. Alliteration Then one day after wed been friends for two years, . one day when it was pouring and I was indoors, Long like rhymes throughout my mum says to me, I was talking to Mrs Moir the poem and frequent use who lives next door to your Brendon Gallacher. of Brendon Gallacher. Didnt you say his address was 24 Novar? She says there are no Gallachers at 24 Novar. Use of commas for emphasis and There never have been any Gallachers next door. effect "flat on my bedroom floor, And he died then, my Brendon Gallacher, his spiky hair. flat out on my bedroom floor, his spiky hair, his impish grin, his funny, flapping ear. Oh Brendon. Oh my Brendon Gallacher. Jackie Kay

Colloquial Scottish. language Repetition of some place invokes emotion of reminiscence.

Makes excuses as to why people cant meet Brendon.

Impish: Inclined to do slightly naughty things for fun; like the narrator.

Interpretations of the poem: One of the main themes is about belief. She believes in a fake invisible friend, and when reality invades she is forced to drop the illusion. It's why she doesn't have him over for dinner. She can't prove he exists. It's a game, and as she gets older she grows out of it