Your homework was to put a paragraph in the comments section that integrates the context with your analysis.
Remember to have a topic sentence on your paragraph....
However it could be argued that the poem “Them and Uz” is not entirely about the social division in society. “Can’t have our glorious heritage done to death!” suggest an element of pride in Harrison’s background. The ambiguity of the history of his heritage allows the reader open to different interpretations, so that no limitations are placed in our imagination. But can the disappearance of heritage be classed as Harrison presenting the difference between the two classes? It may be argued that Harrison’s intentions were different to what some may perceive them to be. Part one conveys the emergence of the conflict due to his northern accent; and part two concludes with the recovery of Harrison’s identity: “My first mention in the Times made Tony Anthony!” We are drawn to the interpretation that Harrison was finally accepted and gained respect yet the fact that he is now initially one of the “receivers” blurs the division between the two classes. And as Marx puts it: “...we may expect to find a new experience of reality...”; as we see how Harrison’s name changed in the press and how he was known. Therefore, the poem may be more about “climbing up the social ladder” rather that a negative portrayal of the social division.
Harrison effectivly incorporates the Marxist theory into his poems and demonstrates the class struggle which is a central element in social change of western society. This class struggle is particularly emphasised is Harrison’s sarcastic ‘dangling a scholar’, where he appears to take up the role of society, constricting the proletariat to a pre-conceived idea of how class affects not only social standing but also intelligence, implying they will never achieve the role of a scholar. Harrison is highlighting the social divide through exaggerating the proletariats inability to progress up the social ladder, representing a class divide effectively, especially from a Marxist perspective as it demonstrates the way in which social existence and economic position determines social standing for the rest of their lives. This emphazises the social divide that Harrison excellently portrays in 'National Trust' as negative and ultimatley detrimental to society.
Furthermore, in another of Harrison’s poems, ‘Them and [uz]’ the working class are presented as victims, particularly in section one. The poem is divided into two sections, much like the title, ‘Them and [uz]’ hinting again towards the issue of class separation. It can be assumed that Harrison is referring to his own past experiences in section one, where he’s speaking with his teacher. In the beginning, Harrison writes, “aiai, ay, ay!” emphasising the contrast between the formal dictionary example, “aiai” of how you should pronounce it, and the Northern working class interpretation of the sound, “ay, ay!” it creates a juxtaposition of educated linguists with an uneducated phrase. Much like in, ‘National trust’ Harrison is referring to the upper classes destroying regional accents because they see them as inferior. Tony Harrison is told “You’re one of these Shakespeare gives the comic bits to: Prose!” this is implying the Northern working classes are almost victims to their own identity, similarly Marxism is about how your social circumstances determine much, if not all of your life. Harrison’s referring to the fact that in the Elizabethan age prose was employed as the common and uncultivated people. He is suggesting that an individual with such an accent couldn’t possibly take on a lead role in such prestigious plays, as if their accents would render them only useful for, “comic bits” which within the plays of Shakespeare or other Elizabethan playwrights, prose characters merely functioned as comic elements. This completely defuses the positive side of the other poem’s title, ‘National Trust’ which creates the image of National unity and respect for its people.
Harrison begins National Trust with the short sentence of ‘bottomless pits’ then a masculine caesura, by using stressed syllables and such a short opening line, Harrison brings the idea of a long felt resentment, this can be heard in the ‘ts’ of ‘pits’ which suggests to the reader that the narrator is spitting as he says it. In contrast, the first line of the third stanza of National Trust ‘O gentleman’ uses soft consonants and what could be seen as a stereotypical upper class way of speaking, perhaps to highlight the class divide between the wealthy and the working class. This idea of the working and upper class different speech patterns denoting their economic status is backed up British Marxist critic Tony Eagleton who suggests ‘shared definitions and regularities of grammar both reflect and help constitute, a well-ordered political state’. This is reflected in Harrison’s poem National Trust as the phrase ‘O gentleman’ clearly suggest a class divide within a person’s speech.
The poem National Trust begins with ‘bottomless pits’, a phrase open to Marxist interpretations. You could take the phrase literally, meaning pits that are bottomless. ‘Pits’ in particular could be referencing one of the old, closed mines in the poem. National Trust was written around the time of the miners’ strikes in the 1970’s. This was a time when the country was crippled financially. The working class were struggling in particular due to the three-day working week, an attempt at saving energy. It was also written around the time of the ‘winter of discontent’, a time of widespread strikes in Britain. This could be seen as a metaphorical ‘bottomless pit’ of darkness, the working class seemed to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of despair, because of the capitalist economy in which they are simply objects. ‘The capitalist mode of production generates a view of the world – focused of profit – in which ultimately all of function as objects and become alienated from ourselves.’ (Bertens, H.) There was civil unrest from the miners in particular in the 1970’s as mines were being closed and many people were losing their jobs. The only people unaffected were the upper class. From a Marxist perspective, this context reinforces the idea that there is a class divide between the wealthy and the working class. There is a clear inequality as the working class are exploited in a capitalist economy. ‘Bottomless pits’ is also a colloquial phrase often used by the upper class to suggest a hunger that can’t be satisfied. This hunger may also be interpreted as a greed that the bourgeoisie have for money that is never satisfied. The phrase ‘Bottomless pits’ is possibly also referring to the endless amount of money that wealthy people have, this interpretation could be read as Harrison representing the class divide between the wealthy and the working class. In the very first line we are reminded of the advantages of the wealthy, automatically associated with their ‘Bottomless pits’ of money.
‘Capitalism, Marxism tells us, thrives on exploiting its labourers’ and in ‘National Trust’ Tony Harrison draws attention to the hardship and distress the workers experience under the ‘stout upholders of our law and order’. This is done through his choice of structure ‘and borrowed a convict hush-hush from his warder’, the ‘hush-hush’ part of this line is almost physically painful if read out loud, highlighting the anguish of the miners. It could also be said to portray the political frustration the miners felt. Around the time Harrison wrote ‘National Trust’ the National Union of Mine Workers demanded a salary increase of 42% which was refused by the Conservative government, and resulted in the first national strike. Furthermore Harrison emphasises the rapidity of the convict’s decline into madness through his use of asyndeton ‘back, flayed, grey, mad, dumb’, which through the increase in pace makes the reader more aware of the suffering of the convict, and therefore of the working class.
Another form of Marxism which Harrison could be considered to be commenting on, is “Capitalists exploiting their labourers” as stated in Bertens, H (2001) Literary Theory: The Basics. This can be seen when “the tongueless man gets his land took” as Harrison’s authorial voice may be suggesting that the class system is unfair, as the proletariats do all the work and are treated unfairly by the bourgeoisies, who have unnecessarily taken the proletariats land away. Harrison may also be suggesting that the proletarians are payed unfairly, alike the many miners strikes throughout the 1960’s which lead to 35% pay rise, for the miners, in 1975. Again, this highlights the social divide between proletariats and the bourgeoisies because of the unfair treatment which the proletariats receive from the bourgeoisies, such as being “tongueless” in protesting against their land being taken.
A main feature of Marxism is ‘The theory of alienation’ Workers in capitalist society do not own the means machines, raw materials, factories—which they use in their work. These are owned by the capitalists to whom the workers must sell their "labour power", or ability to do work, in return for a wage.’ This idea of a lack of ownership is looked at in the poem in obvious ways for example ‘the dumb go down in history and disappear’ this touches upon to things, the first refers back to the working class being silenced-dumb , meaning they cannot speak. Secondly it looks at how the working class are merely part of a process of manufacturing goods, reifying the workers. This line Harrison simply explains their value in the world and how exploitation turns them into forgotten members of society.
The fact of a class divide is key to any Marxist understanding of society. As Karl Marx himself said, ‘Capital is dead labour, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks.’ (Das Kapital (Buch I) 1867)Tony Harrison portrays this through a variety of bitter phrases. He talks of the ‘stout upholders of law and order’ feeling so commanding and prepared to use violence to get there way that they are empowered to ‘borrow a convict.’ This illustrates how one section of society feels absolute authority over another. As H. Bertens writes ‘Capitalism, Marxism tells us, thrives on exploiting its laborers.’ Harrison frequently refers to the upperclass with the word ‘gentlemen’ but we are shown that their actions are anything but gentle. In one of the most striking quotes, Harrison's describes how the miner’s own language, Cornish, has almost been eradicated by the bourgeoisie, because of the ‘gentlemen’ which ‘killed the language that they swore it in’. Just as Marx wanted to give workers control of the means of production, Tony Harrison gives the miners their voice in their own language by including the last line in Cornish, which he translates as: ‘The tongueless man gets his land took.’ To further underline this interpretation this final phrase comes at the bottom of the poem, another reference to ‘Bottomless pits’, it is as if the Cornish words are hitting the bottom of the pit and echoing out into the silence.
However it could be argued that the poem “Them and Uz” is not entirely about the social division in society. “Can’t have our glorious heritage done to death!” suggest an element of pride in Harrison’s background. The ambiguity of the history of his heritage allows the reader open to different interpretations, so that no limitations are placed in our imagination. But can the disappearance of heritage be classed as Harrison presenting the difference between the two classes? It may be argued that Harrison’s intentions were different to what some may perceive them to be. Part one conveys the emergence of the conflict due to his northern accent; and part two concludes with the recovery of Harrison’s identity: “My first mention in the Times made Tony Anthony!” We are drawn to the interpretation that Harrison was finally accepted and gained respect yet the fact that he is now initially one of the “receivers” blurs the division between the two classes. And as Marx puts it: “...we may expect to find a new experience of reality...”; as we see how Harrison’s name changed in the press and how he was known. Therefore, the poem may be more about “climbing up the social ladder” rather that a negative portrayal of the social division.
ReplyDeleteHarrison effectivly incorporates the Marxist theory into his poems and demonstrates the class struggle which is a central element in social change of western society. This class struggle is particularly emphasised is Harrison’s sarcastic ‘dangling a scholar’, where he appears to take up the role of society, constricting the proletariat to a pre-conceived idea of how class affects not only social standing but also intelligence, implying they will never achieve the role of a scholar. Harrison is highlighting the social divide through exaggerating the proletariats inability to progress up the social ladder, representing a class divide effectively, especially from a Marxist perspective as it demonstrates the way in which social existence and economic position determines social standing for the rest of their lives. This emphazises the social divide that Harrison excellently portrays in 'National Trust' as negative and ultimatley detrimental to society.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, in another of Harrison’s poems, ‘Them and [uz]’ the working class are presented as victims, particularly in section one. The poem is divided into two sections, much like the title, ‘Them and [uz]’ hinting again towards the issue of class separation. It can be assumed that Harrison is referring to his own past experiences in section one, where he’s speaking with his teacher. In the beginning, Harrison writes, “aiai, ay, ay!” emphasising the contrast between the formal dictionary example, “aiai” of how you should pronounce it, and the Northern working class interpretation of the sound, “ay, ay!” it creates a juxtaposition of educated linguists with an uneducated phrase. Much like in, ‘National trust’ Harrison is referring to the upper classes destroying regional accents because they see them as inferior. Tony Harrison is told “You’re one of these Shakespeare gives the comic bits to: Prose!” this is implying the Northern working classes are almost victims to their own identity, similarly Marxism is about how your social circumstances determine much, if not all of your life. Harrison’s referring to the fact that in the Elizabethan age prose was employed as the common and uncultivated people. He is suggesting that an individual with such an accent couldn’t possibly take on a lead role in such prestigious plays, as if their accents would render them only useful for, “comic bits” which within the plays of Shakespeare or other Elizabethan playwrights, prose characters merely functioned as comic elements. This completely defuses the positive side of the other poem’s title, ‘National Trust’ which creates the image of National unity and respect for its people.
ReplyDeleteHarrison begins National Trust with the short sentence of ‘bottomless pits’ then a masculine caesura, by using stressed syllables and such a short opening line, Harrison brings the idea of a long felt resentment, this can be heard in the ‘ts’ of ‘pits’ which suggests to the reader that the narrator is spitting as he says it. In contrast, the first line of the third stanza of National Trust ‘O gentleman’ uses soft consonants and what could be seen as a stereotypical upper class way of speaking, perhaps to highlight the class divide between the wealthy and the working class. This idea of the working and upper class different speech patterns denoting their economic status is backed up British Marxist critic Tony Eagleton who suggests ‘shared definitions and regularities of grammar both reflect and help constitute, a well-ordered political state’. This is reflected in Harrison’s poem National Trust as the phrase ‘O gentleman’ clearly suggest a class divide within a person’s speech.
ReplyDeleteThe poem National Trust begins with ‘bottomless pits’, a phrase open to Marxist interpretations. You could take the phrase literally, meaning pits that are bottomless. ‘Pits’ in particular could be referencing one of the old, closed mines in the poem. National Trust was written around the time of the miners’ strikes in the 1970’s. This was a time when the country was crippled financially. The working class were struggling in particular due to the three-day working week, an attempt at saving energy. It was also written around the time of the ‘winter of discontent’, a time of widespread strikes in Britain. This could be seen as a metaphorical ‘bottomless pit’ of darkness, the working class seemed to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of despair, because of the capitalist economy in which they are simply objects. ‘The capitalist mode of production generates a view of the world – focused of profit – in which ultimately all of function as objects and become alienated from ourselves.’ (Bertens, H.) There was civil unrest from the miners in particular in the 1970’s as mines were being closed and many people were losing their jobs. The only people unaffected were the upper class. From a Marxist perspective, this context reinforces the idea that there is a class divide between the wealthy and the working class. There is a clear inequality as the working class are exploited in a capitalist economy. ‘Bottomless pits’ is also a colloquial phrase often used by the upper class to suggest a hunger that can’t be satisfied. This hunger may also be interpreted as a greed that the bourgeoisie have for money that is never satisfied. The phrase ‘Bottomless pits’ is possibly also referring to the endless amount of money that wealthy people have, this interpretation could be read as Harrison representing the class divide between the wealthy and the working class. In the very first line we are reminded of the advantages of the wealthy, automatically associated with their ‘Bottomless pits’ of money.
ReplyDelete‘Capitalism, Marxism tells us, thrives on exploiting its labourers’ and in ‘National Trust’ Tony Harrison draws attention to the hardship and distress the workers experience under the ‘stout upholders of our law and order’. This is done through his choice of structure ‘and borrowed a convict hush-hush from his warder’, the ‘hush-hush’ part of this line is almost physically painful if read out loud, highlighting the anguish of the miners. It could also be said to portray the political frustration the miners felt. Around the time Harrison wrote ‘National Trust’ the National Union of Mine Workers demanded a salary increase of 42% which was refused by the Conservative government, and resulted in the first national strike. Furthermore Harrison emphasises the rapidity of the convict’s decline into madness through his use of asyndeton ‘back, flayed, grey, mad, dumb’, which through the increase in pace makes the reader more aware of the suffering of the convict, and therefore of the working class.
ReplyDeleteAnother form of Marxism which Harrison could be considered to be commenting on, is “Capitalists exploiting their labourers” as stated in Bertens, H (2001) Literary Theory: The Basics. This can be seen when “the tongueless man gets his land took” as Harrison’s authorial voice may be suggesting that the class system is unfair, as the proletariats do all the work and are treated unfairly by the bourgeoisies, who have unnecessarily taken the proletariats land away. Harrison may also be suggesting that the proletarians are payed unfairly, alike the many miners strikes throughout the 1960’s which lead to 35% pay rise, for the miners, in 1975. Again, this highlights the social divide between proletariats and the bourgeoisies because of the unfair treatment which the proletariats receive from the bourgeoisies, such as being “tongueless” in protesting against their land being taken.
ReplyDeleteA main feature of Marxism is ‘The theory of alienation’ Workers in capitalist society do not own the means machines, raw materials, factories—which they use in their work. These are owned by the capitalists to whom the workers must sell their "labour power", or ability to do work, in return for a wage.’ This idea of a lack of ownership is looked at in the poem in obvious ways for example ‘the dumb go down in history and disappear’ this touches upon to things, the first refers back to the working class being silenced-dumb , meaning they cannot speak. Secondly it looks at how the working class are merely part of a process of manufacturing goods, reifying the workers. This line Harrison simply explains their value in the world and how exploitation turns them into forgotten members of society.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of a class divide is key to any Marxist understanding of society. As Karl Marx himself said, ‘Capital is dead labour, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks.’ (Das Kapital (Buch I) 1867)Tony Harrison portrays this through a variety of bitter phrases. He talks of the ‘stout upholders of law and order’ feeling so commanding and prepared to use violence to get there way that they are empowered to ‘borrow a convict.’ This illustrates how one section of society feels absolute authority over another. As H. Bertens writes ‘Capitalism, Marxism tells us, thrives on exploiting its laborers.’ Harrison frequently refers to the upperclass with the word ‘gentlemen’ but we are shown that their actions are anything but gentle. In one of the most striking quotes, Harrison's describes how the miner’s own language, Cornish, has almost been eradicated by the bourgeoisie, because of the ‘gentlemen’ which ‘killed the language that they swore it in’. Just as Marx wanted to give workers control of the means of production, Tony Harrison gives the miners their voice in their own language by including the last line in Cornish, which he translates as: ‘The tongueless man gets his land took.’ To further underline this interpretation this final phrase comes at the bottom of the poem, another reference to ‘Bottomless pits’, it is as if the Cornish words are hitting the bottom of the pit and echoing out into the silence.
ReplyDelete