'Glasgow Sonnet i' (SQA National 5 English): Revision Note
Exam code: X824 75
Below is a guide to Edwin Morgan’s poem ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ in preparation for the SQA National 5 English exam. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of Morgan’s techniques and methods
Understanding the poem: an exploration of the themes and ideas within Morgan’s poem
Linking the poems: an understanding of how ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ connects to Morgan’s other prescribed poems for the Scottish text section
Overview
In order to answer questions on any poem it is vital that you 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 Edwin Morgan’s intention and message
‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ overview
‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’, written by Edwin Morgan, is part of a sequence of sonnets (opens in a new tab) about the Scottish city written in the early 1970s. This particular sonnet offers a bleak snapshot of life in a Glasgow tenement, with social and economic decay glaringly apparent.
‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ translation
Lines 1-4
“A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash.
Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses
puff briefly and subside. Play fortresses
of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash.”
Translation
Morgan sets the scene of a Glasgow tenement building plagued by rubbish and social decay:
People seem to have lost any sense of hope or value for life
Morgan’s intention
Personification (opens in a new tab) and pathetic fallacy (opens in a new tab) are immediately used in “mean wind” to create an ominous, depressing setting:
The personification is developed in “wanders”, for even the weather lacks definite purpose
The opening quatrain (opens in a new tab) of the sonnet features numerous words that are associated with urban decay:
The word “trash” literally suggests the area around the tenement is used as a rubbish dump
The description of “old mattresses” further suggests neglect through fly-tipping
Even items associated with children, like “Play-fortresses”, are abandoned
Lifelessness is conveyed through the pathetic effort of the "mattresses" to “puff briefly” and the symbolic “ash” depicting death and futility
Lines 5-8
“Four storeys have no windows left to smash,
but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses
mother and daughter the last mistresses
of that black block condemned to stand, not crash.”
Translation
A description of the decaying nature of the tenement continues, before a human element is finally acknowledged in line 7
The “mother and daughter” are presented as the last inhabitants of the building
Morgan’s intention
The extent of damage to the building is emphasised by the fact that there are “no windows left to smash”
The “mother and daughter” are then presented ironically (opens in a new tab) as “mistresses”, as if they own the tenement, rather than being the final tenants of one flat:
The building "buttresses" the pair, as if trapping them inside
An air of gloom and depression is again presented in the use of the word “black”
The quatrain ends in further irony:
When buildings are “condemned”, demolition typically follows
In this case the opposite is true, for even though the tenement requires destruction, it is destined for now “to stand”
Lines 9-11
“Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl.
The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob.
Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall.”
Translation
The depressing presentation continues, with a gloomy insight into the damp, rodent-infested interior of the fifth storey flat
Morgan’s Intention
In this section, the “cracks” literally depict the dilapidated state of the building and, more widely, the splintering of society
The image (opens in a new tab)of the “rats crawl” is obviously a repulsive impression of rodent infestation
The personified “kettle whimpers” emphasises the half-hearted nature of any action associated with the tenement
The depiction of the “hob” as “crazy” suggests the mental illness that may arise from existing in such awful surroundings
The image of the “mould” subverts pre-conceived ideas about nature:
Roses are typically seen as beautiful, colourful flowers, but here they are associated with damp and decay, and the ill health living in such conditions can bring
The fact that the “mould” covers such an extensive patch of wall further symbolises the scale of social decay experienced in Glasgow
Lines 12-14
“The man lies late since he has lost his job,
smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall
thinly into an air too poor to rob.”
Translation
A third character is introduced, as if an afterthought, and he is presented as unemployed and idle:
A closing symbol of hopelessness
Morgan’s intention
Introducing the man using “The” rather than “a” suggests a sense of inevitability about the appearance of a male figure
The man “lies late” because he has no purpose due to his unemployment, an idea emphasised by the alliteration (opens in a new tab) of “l”
He is further portrayed as pathetically idle and ill, with even his “coughs” represented as inconsequential (“fall / thinly”)
The poem ends by highlighting the abject poverty of the described area of Glasgow:
The place has been so stripped of anything of value, be it physical or emotional, there is nothing here worth taking
Writer’s methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections — form, structure and language — it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme and includes Edwin Morgan’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:
Form
Structure
Language
Form
Edwin Morgan’s poem, ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’, follows many of the features of a sonnet, including 14 lines, ten syllables per line, and the use of quatrains. However, the rhyme scheme (opens in a new tab) is random, while love, the typical theme of a sonnet, is glaringly missing. This use of predictable features coupled with a sense of poetic disorder helps to convey the theme of social decay and poverty.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Social decay and poverty | The poem ironically suggests an order within the chaos of this Glasgow tenement through the structure of a sonnet. | A permanence of social decay and poverty is suggested through the absence of any plans to demolish the building, and the ongoing presence of the “mother and daughter”. |
The irregular use of rhyme further helps to link ideas across the poem, such as “trash” and “ash”, creating an overwhelming and inescapable sense of social decay. | Overall, by using the sonnet form Morgan seeks to subvert the traditional idea of love, for he actually presents a scene devoid of any love or human decency. |
Structure
The structural techniques of caesura (opens in a new tab) and enjambment (opens in a new tab) are used to emphasise the absence of any hope in the poem’s presentation of people and places.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Hopelessness | The poem mainly follows the prescribed sonnet structure, featuring two quatrains (lines 1-4 and 5-8), then more irregular sentence structure, with three end-stopped lines (opens in a new tab) on 9, 10 and 11, followed by a final three-line sentence.
| ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ depicts a scene of utter hopelessness, with the structure underpinning this desperate setting and the people within it.
|
Language
Edwin Morgan uses personification and word choice to convey the desperate nature of the human condition in this part of Glasgow.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
|---|---|---|
Human condition | The use of personification through imagery adds depth to the portrayal of the setting, offering a despairing glimpse into human suffering and poverty:
| The humans in ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ are presented as less than human, such is the dire nature of their existence.
|
Word choice is also used in a more straightforward way to emphasise the struggles faced by those living in the tenement:
| In many ways, the word choice is consciously simplistic:
|
Understanding the poem
For the SQA National 5 English exam, it’s important to show a clear and thoughtful understanding of the poem’s themes and main ideas, as well as how the poet’s techniques and intentions help to convey meaning. This section focuses on two main themes that Morgan examines in ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’:
Social decay and poverty
Hopelessness
Social decay and poverty
‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ is a sad indictment of the human condition and the consequences of poverty:
The area described in the poem seems scarcely suitable for human habitation, yet people have no choice but to live in such squalor
In the poem, the characters are not developed, making it hard for the reader to to truly sympathise with their plight:
The characters are simply another part of the ruined fabric of the tenement
The man is perhaps the most pitiful character:
As the symbolic breadwinner and head of the family, he is depicted as solitary and defeated
His prospects, too, are dismal, with the speaker making it clear that he has given up on his health, and more universally given up on the notion of striving for a purposeful existence
Hopelessness
‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ is a pessimistic poem about life in and around a tenement, offering the reader an image of utter hopelessness
Morgan presents a scene that feels apocalyptic, yet is clearly framed in a grim reality
It is the sheer lack of vitality that creates a sense of hopelessness: rubbish is piled up, windows are broken and the building is infested by rodents
That people continue to live in the tenement potentially offers some hope, but instead serves to make the scene even more depressing:
They are presented as trapped and also disparate, with “The man” introduced as a separate entity to the females
The theme of hopelessness continues to the last syllable: even undertaking criminal acts is futile, for there is nothing literally or metaphorically (opens in a new tab) worth taking
Examiner Tips and Tricks
When preparing for the exam, do not just look for shared themes; look for shared techniques. You might find that a poet uses similar imagery, setting or word choice patterns across multiple poems. Identifying these “technique connectors” beforehand makes answering the commonality and “elsewhere” portions of the final question much faster.
Linking the poems
Students often use Edwin Morgan’s poetry to answer the Scottish texts section of the SQA National 5 Critical Reading exam. If you choose, though, you can write your critical essay question on Morgan’s poetry instead.
If you decide to write about Morgan for the Scottish text section, the final question asks you to demonstrate a wider understanding of his poetry. That means linking more than one poem together by focusing on his ideas and how he communicates them (his techniques).
The six Edwin Morgan poems on the SQA syllabus are:
‘In the Snack-bar’
‘Trio’
‘Strawberries’
‘Love’
‘Glasgow Sonnet i’
‘Death in Duke Street’
Here are some parallels between the six poems, organised by shared themes:
Theme: Hope | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
‘In the Snack-bar’ | ‘Trio’ | ‘Strawberries’ | ‘Love’ | ‘Glasgow Sonnet i’ | ‘Death in Duke Street’ |
The poem offers a hopeful message about the compassion of humans, explored through the support of the narrator to an old, disabled man | ‘Trio’ is imbued with a sense of hope, mainly the hope that humans can counter negativity and darkness with kindness and generosity | Through the memory of a vivid experience, the poem recounts an event that brings hope to the narrator about the long-lasting impact of love | Despite its dangers and enigmatic qualities, the poem offers , hope for a happier, more fulfilling existence with love | The setting, characters and ideas of social decay suggest an absence of any hope or reason to exist | The poem offers hope for humanity as strangers come to the aid of a collapsed man |
Theme: Exploration of the human experience | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
‘In the Snack-bar’ | ‘Trio’ | ‘Strawberries’ | ‘Love’ | ‘Glasgow Sonnet i’ | ‘Death in Duke Street’ |
Exploration of empathy for a man struggling with old age and disability | Presentation of the best qualities of human nature, despite the ordinary setting | Intense human connection explored through the memory of a singular moment | Human experience explored through our capacity to love intensely | Human experience is presented as desperate, depressing and hopeless | Human compassion is explored through the responses of bystanders, and also the bravery of the dying man |
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