The Cockroach (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 0475 & 0092
‘The Cockroach’
Here is a detailed guide to Kevin Halligan’s poem 'The Cockroach’, from the Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 anthology. It includes:
Overview: a line-by-line “translation” of the poem’s meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of Halligan’s poetic choices and potential effects
Understanding the text: an exploration of the themes and ideas within Halligan’s poem
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is important to understand what it is about. This section includes:
An overview of the poem
A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Kevin Halligan’s intention and message
‘The Cockroach’ overview
The poem, ‘The Cockroach’, by Kevin Halligan, is a sonnet (opens in a new tab) that explores the human condition through the allegory (opens in a new tab) of a wandering cockroach. The cockroach is satisfied in his path at first, but then becomes restless and, finally, unsure about what to do next. The poet uses the cockroach to explore the difficulty of finding our purpose in life.
‘The Cockroach’ breakdown
Lines 1-2
“I watched a giant cockroach start to pace,
Skirting a ball of dust that rode the floor.”
Translation
A speaker observes a cockroach crossing the floor and avoiding a “ball of dust” by going around it (“Skirting”)
Halligan’s intentions
Halligan introduces a first person (opens in a new tab) speaker who observes the movements of a cockroach, noticing how it manages to navigate around obstacles in its way
Lines 3-4
“At first he seemed quite satisfied to trace
A path between the wainscot and the door,”
Translation
The speaker says the cockroach was happy enough going back and forth on one path, a line that went along the wooden panelled walls (“wainscot”) to the door
Halligan’s intentions
The cockroach, which represents human beings, is “satisfied” with a routine, but Halligan implies this will end with the phrase “At first”, perhaps alluding to greed
Lines 5-9
“But soon he turned to jog in crooked rings,
Circling the rusty table leg and back,
And flipping right over to scratch his wings –
As if the victim of a mild attack
Of restlessness that worsened over time.”
Translation
The speaker watches the cockroach suddenly change course and move in “crooked” circles, go around the “table leg”, and turn onto its back to “scratch”
The speaker compares the cockroach to someone having an “attack”:
The “restlessness”, although only “mild” at first, becomes worse as his movements become wilder and more erratic
Halligan’s intentions
As Halligan describes the cockroach having an “attack” of boredom, he compares it to a “victim”, which implies it is subject to inner turmoil and impulsive behaviour
Halligan uses the cockroach to show aspects of human behaviour, and implies life is not always smooth
Lines 10-11
“After a while, he climbed an open shelf
And stopped. He looked uncertain where to go.”
Translation
The cockroach climbs up a shelf, but then he stops, confused about where to go next
Halligan’s intentions
Halligan’s cockroach, once it has scaled the heights of a shelf, seems to have reached some sort of peak, and becomes without purpose and clarity
This may allude to the idea that individuals work towards a goal, only to become aimless and doubtful when they have achieved it
Lines 12-13
“Was this due payment for some vicious crime
A former life had led to? I don’t know,”
Translation
The speaker watches the cockroach and wonders if the uncertainty it feels is punishment for doing something bad in a “former life”, but they are unsure
Halligan’s intentions
As the speaker’s voice becomes clear, and they ask a question about morality, the poem’s philosophical nature comes to the fore:
The speaker’s uncertainty is similar to that of the cockroach
The lines, and the poem as a whole, raises questions about human struggles:
The speaker asks if such doubt is fair justice for evil acts the cockroach (and humans) may have committed before reaching their successful position
Perhaps Halligan asks if greed can lead to dissatisfaction
Line 14
“Except I thought I recognised myself.”
Translation
The speaker concludes their observation of the cockroach by saying the one thing they are sure of is that they recognise aspects of themselves in the cockroach
Halligan’s intentions
Halligan’s poem ends with an unlikely comparison between humans and a cockroach
Halligan suggests humans are as vulnerable as the insect to the problems in life
Halligan reflects on the individual’s path to find meaning
Examiner Tips and Tricks
A good start to writing a “personal and evaluative engagement” is to engage with the key words of the question and think carefully about your introduction. Your introduction (or thesis statement) should set up a personal response that focuses on the writer’s ideas, and engages with the specific question asked. Avoid listing all the techniques in the poem, or giving biographical and historical information that is not connected to your points.
Writer's methods
Although this section is organised into form, structure, and language, it is worth remembering that all of these are considered “writer’s methods” in the CIE Literature for English poetry mark scheme. With this in mind, consider the poet’s choice of form (the way the poem looks or the type of poem it is), its structure (especially how it ends: is it cyclical or resolved?) and, of course, the language used to create effect and, thus, meaning.
Examiners require you to focus on the poem’s deeper ideas, and in a sensitive way. So, discuss how the poet’s methods reveal their ideas or themes. That is why all the analysis below is arranged by theme and includes Kevin Halligan’s intentions in terms of his choices of:
Form
Structure
Language
Form
Kevin Halligan’s poem, ‘The Cockroach’, is delivered by a philosophical speaker. It is formed as a sonnet, perhaps to create a sense of order, but Halligan deviates from traditional rules to present disruption and confusion.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Individual identity | Traditionally, a sonnet is divided into sections of eight and six lines, but Halligan’s poem has its volta (opens in a new tab) at line 12, at which point a first person speaker asks themselves a question to which they do not know the answer | Halligan’s poem is formed as a long observation of a cockroach that is concluded by a reflective, yet resigned speaker who sees a similar lack of meaning in their live |
Structure
Halligan deviates from traditional sonnet structures to present a strange observation of a cockroach crossing the floor. At first, the cockroach is steady and calm, but changes suddenly to a state of restless confusion, which mimics the speaker’s own sense of uncertainty.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Individual identity | The poem is in iambic pentameter (opens in a new tab)with a regular rhyme scheme (opens in a new tab)to create a regular, conversational voice, but rhyming lines ABAB CDCD change to EFG EGF creating a destabilised speaker | As the cockroach’s journey becomes more disorderly, Halligan’s speaker changes from calm to anxious to reflect their similarly growing tension and uncertainty |
This is further emphasised by caesura (opens in a new tab) in “And stopped. He looked uncertain where to go.” |
Language
Kevin Halligan’s poem ‘The Cockroach’ is an allegory as it uses a cockroach to symbolise humans. The poem’s setting contributes to the idea that both the cockroach and the speaker are struggling in a difficult set of circumstances.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Humans and nature | Imagery (opens in a new tab) connoting to neglect describes the speaker and cockroach’s environment, such as “a ball of dust” and a “rusty” table leg | Halligan shows the insect and the speaker in the same environment which strengthens the idea that they have similar experiences and struggles |
Individual identity | Verbs are used to describe the cockroach’s changing state of mind: “pace” and “trace” become “jog”, “Circling”, and “flipping”, which ends with “climbed” and “stopped” | Halligan considers an individual's life journey through a cockroach that grows increasingly more erratic and confused as it tries to find a sense of purpose |
Understanding the text
All the questions in the CIE Literature for English exam encourage an informed, personal response, which means that you should develop a sound understanding of the poem’s themes, main ideas, settings, situations and events. This will help you to explore the writer’s intentions and methods. This section has been divided into two main themes that Kevin Halligan explores in 'The Cockroach’:
Individual identity
Humans and nature
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Sometimes a writer’s choice of structure and form overlap in terms of the effect or meaning they create. In your response to the poetry question, it is best to start your paragraphs with a point of analysis (an interpretation or argument statement), such as “Halligan disrupts the traditional form of a sonnet to create a sense of disorder.” Then, support this statement with a close exploration of how aspects of form and/or structure and/or language reveal the speaker’s attitudes.
Individual identity
Kevin Halligan is a Canadian poet born in 1964
The poem was published in 1999 and later appeared in his 2009 collection called Utopia, when Halligan was living in an unstable Cambodia:
The title of the collection raises ideas about a perfect world and morality
In ‘The Cockroach’, Halligan considered aimless "restlessness"
The poem shows influences of other works that use a symbolic cockroach to consider human transformation, resilience, and vulnerabilities:
These include Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Don Marquis’ archy and mehitabel, which can be considered critical comparisons
More recently, British novelist Ian McEwan’s 2019 novel, Cockroach, uses the symbolism of cockroaches to defame individuals, or show humans as base:
Halligan’s poem asks if the cockroach’s doubt is punishment for evil acts
Humans and nature
Halligan’s sonnet, ‘The Cockroach’, pays tribute to traditional and classical poetry
The subject matter, an individual trying to understand their inner turmoil by watching nature, may show Romantic influences:
The final line ends on a very personal, bleak conclusion, often found in Romantic poems: “I thought I recognised myself”
Halligan’s simple language resonates with Romantic poetry’s aims to show the deepest expressions of the human experience with simple imagery:
In ‘The Cockroach’, Halligan describes a simple floor, with a “ball of dust”
For further advice and guidance on how to answer the poetry question, please see our detailed guides on Paper 1 Section A: what the question is asking (opens in a new tab) and how to get full marks (opens in a new tab). You will also find an example of a full, annotated model answer (opens in a new tab).
It is important to remember that no marks are given for comments on any of the other poems studied in the anthology. Your response should concentrate only on the poem given.
Sources
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/414779-2020-specimen-mark-scheme-1.pdf (opens in a new tab).
“From defeat to resilience: The human cockroach in world literature after Kafka.” SAV, https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/07041131Arnds_separat.pdf (opens in a new tab). Accessed 21 August 2025.
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