Aqa a Level English Literature Poetry Anthology

'On a Portrait of a Deaf Man'

by John Betjeman

Learning Objectives:

AO1: Respond to the using details from the poem to support your opinion
AO2: Analyse the writers' methods (language, structure and form) and the purposes of these methods

Pre-reading Activity:

Why do some people turn to God when someone dies or something negative happens?

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Conversely, why do people turn away from God when someone dies?

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 Using a dictionary, write down the definition of the word 'agnostic' .

agnostic: ______________________________________________________________

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Social context

John Betjeman

was born in 1906 and died in 1984. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1972. He was once religious; however, as time went by, he developed agnostic beliefs.

First impressions

 Read the poem.
 What are your

first impressions

of the tone and meaning?

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'shroud 

'Highgate Hill' 

'carrara-covered' 

Translator



a burial garment

an area in London

earth carrara is a marble often used for headstones

Poetry detective

*Find table on next page (page 4).
What are the positive and negative images in the poem?
Instructions for teacher:

Enlarge, cut out and hide the statements around the classroom.
Put pupils into groups of three. One student within the group takes on the role of scribe; s/he will need the empty table on page 5 and a pen. The other two students are 'runners'. (Teacher to differentiate accordingly.)
The task for the 'runners' is to find a statement, memorise it and then return to the scribe who has to write down the information provided by her / his runners in their empty table (page 5). Runners are NOT allowed to pick up the statements or to shout the facts across the classroom. Neither are they allowed to memorise more than one fact before returning to the scribe.
The team must work together to make sure the scribe has arranged the statements correctly.
This is a frantic activity but one that students enjoy and it often turns into a race without the teacher even mentioning the word. Advice on movement around the classroom might be necessary.

Positive	Negative
'country lanes'	'A closely fitting shroud'
' kind old face'	'The London clay'
'old City dining-rooms'	'But not the song it sung.'
'He knew the names of ev'ry bird'	'maggots in his eyes'
'He smiled and looked so wise'	'Highgate Hill'
'the rain-washed Cornish air'	' Carrara-covered earth'
'the smell of ploughed-up soil'	'his finger-bones Stick through his finger-ends'
'a landscape big and bare'	'God'

Positive	Negative

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 Betjeman uses contrasting images in order to emphasise both the

extreme happiness and extreme sadness of the narrator.
Let's take a closer look

 Answer the following questions by providing quotes and analysis . Think PEA - point, example, analysis.

Language and imagery

How would you describe the deaf man? Think of three sentences, either relating to physical appearance or personality, and support each with a quotation.

1.
2.
3.

In stanza two, what gruesome image are we presented with? How has Betjeman used contrasting images here? How does this help to create the tone?

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What is the effect of Betjeman's use of proper nouns?

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What is the

lexical set of the last stanza?

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What does 'thus and thus' appear to mock ?

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What does this reveal about Betjeman's attitude towards

religion ?

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Tone

Which word(s) from the list below would you use to describe how the last line of the last stanza should be read?
bitterly	Morosely	angrily
sarcastically	accusatory

Which word(s) have you chosen and why ?

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What is the effect of the direct address to God, 'You' ? How is the tone implied?

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What is the tone of " Say 'Save his soul and pray.'" ?

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Structure and form
 Label the rhyme scheme on your copies of the poem.

How does the continuous structure and rhythm reflect the speaker's feelings?

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What do you notice about the fourth lines of the first four stanzas of the poem? How is this effective in terms of structural technique ?

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Meaning
 'On a Portrait of a Deaf Man' conveys memories of happiness, though regret and sadness stir amongst the narrator's emotions; the poem is one of contrasts and flitting attitudes. It has been said that the 'Deaf Man' was in fact the poet's dead father, with whom Betjeman had a difficult relationship.

Why, therefore, do you think Betjeman does not specifically mention his father in the poem? What is the effect?

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	My Itchy Toes Smell Loads  Complete the table below with what you consider to be the most important quotes and poetic devices within each category.
meaning
imagery
tone
Structure and Form
language

Comparing poems

AO3: Make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers' different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

 Use the Venn diagram to find the differences and similarities between the two poems.

'On a Portrait of a Deaf Man'

'Brendon Gallacher'

Exam question

Compare the feelings of the speakers in 'On a Portrait of a Deaf Man' and 'Brendon Gallacher'.

Planning an essay

 Using MITSL as a guide, create an essay plan or spider diagram for your essay question. You must include

3 - 5 points of comparison . Number each point in the order you would write about them in your exam. When you write your essay, remember to analyse structural and poetic devices for their effect and meaning . Don't just list.
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On a Portrait of a Deaf Man

5
10
15
20

The kind old face, the egg-shaped head,

The tie, discreetly loud,

The loosely fitting shooting clothes,

A closely fitting shroud.
He liked old City dining-rooms,

Potatoes in their skin,

But now his mouth is wide to let

The London clay come in.
He took me on long silent walks

In country lanes when young,

He knew the names of ev'ry bird

But not the song it sung.
And when he could not hear me speak

He smiled and looked so wise

That now I do not like to think

Of maggots in his eyes.
He liked the rain-washed Cornish air

And smell of ploughed-up soil,

He liked a landscape big and bare

And painted it in oil.

25
30

But least of all he liked that place

Which hangs on Highgate Hill

Of soaked Carrara-covered earth

For Londoners to fill.
He would have liked to say good-bye,

Shake hands with many friends,

In Highgate now his finger-bones

Stick through his finger-ends.
You, God, who treat him thus and thus,

Say, 'Save his soul and pray.'

You ask me to believe You and

I only see decay.

John Betjeman

Acknowledgments and thanks

Written by Chantel Mathias and Amanda Fiegel

Introduction and copy by Karen Bishop

Audio file scripts and recordings by Barrie McDermid: www.podcastrevision.co.uk

Interactive resources and design by David Riley: www.triptico.co.uk

Image: channel4.com
Betjeman, John

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this collection. If notified, we will be pleased to rectify any errors / omissions.

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Aqa a Level English Literature Poetry Anthology

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