2018 don paterson poems to print if you lost them!

1. In your own words, summarise the ‘difference’ that Russell is making to the poet’s life.
   The difference Russell makes to his father’s life is to give a new purpose and sense of direction. Before Russell was born the speaker felt he was simply drifting through life, but now he has a child to raise and look after.

2. How does the poet’s use of language create a contrast between Russell’s smile and the poet’s own ‘grin’?
   Language is used to create a contrast between the child’s smile and the speakers ‘grin’ – the former is a true smile whereas the latters is forced. Paterson’s old smile is made to sound false and difficult. He calls it ‘hard-pressed’ suggesting he was once intensely cynical and had become world-weary. He was often just going through the motions of appearing happy. On the other hand, Russell’s smile is one filled with genuine joy. It is described as something that ‘dawned on him’ suggesting it was something that got bigger and wider the longer it went on. There is also this idea that it completely takes over Russell as we are told his grin “possessed him”. It is an unbreakable smile, with nothing unable to break it – “it would not fall or waver”. Russell has not encountered anything to make him unhappy yet.

3. The poem can be split into a sestet and an octave. Who is addressed by the poet in each section?
   The sestet comes first in the poem and is addressed to an unknown listener. The octave which forms the final 8 lines of the poem is addressed directly to Russell.

4. Look at lines 8–9. Show how the poem’s language and/or ideas create a contrast between the poet’s life journey and the arrival of Russell.
   In lines 8-9 Paterson is using an allusion to the path of life from Dante’s Inferno to get across the idea that his life now has meaning. In line 8 he talks about the “true path” being lost to him, which means that he felt his life had no definition or point to it. He was lost in some way,

5. Considering the poem as a whole, how does the poet’s use of language help the reader understand the impact the birth of Russell has had on his life?
   The poet’s use of language is revelatory. Everything about Russell has changed the poet’s perception of life. This revelation hits the day he wakes up next to Russell – “it all began” showing us that this is the beginning of something new for Paterson. He talks about finding “the true path” suggesting that now he knows the purpose of his life whereas before he was simply going through the motions of living.

6. Explain how the simile ‘like a river’ is extended in the language of lines 10–14. Evaluate the effectiveness of this image in conveying the point the poet is making.
   This image is very effective in conveying the point that Russell is a huge natural force that has taken over his life. First of all Paterson mimics the noise of a river by having lots of ‘r’ sounds in these lines. This creates an impression of the rushing noise of a river. Paterson also talks about the smile being “poured”. The word choice here is again suggestive of a great force which is unstoppable, just like a river.

7. The sonnet form is typically used for love poetry. In what ways is this a love poem? How does the poet’s language show this?
   The sonnet is a love poem to Paterson’s son. A lot of the word choice mirrors the style and word choice typically found in love sonnets. The poem starts off with the two characters in the poem facing each other in a bed. Which Paterson states is “like lovers”. In the middle of the poem we have a direct address to Russell, which shows Paterson proclaiming this poem is dedicated to his child – “Dear son”. Nearer the end of the poem he begins to make a wide sweeping statement, showing us that his son has forced him to think about the wider implications of love – “How fine, I thought, this waking amongst men!” Here we can read that Paterson has realised that Russell has switched him on and that his life has been given purpose whereas before he felt he was simply drifting. It also ends with a promise of love – “I kissed your mouth and pledged myself forever”, here Paterson is showing that he will always be there for his son.

8. How does the poet use images connected to light to create a sense of the importance of the baby in the poet’s life?
   The first light imagery is in the first few lines when he talks about Russell’s smile “dawning” on him. This suggests that the smile will grow and brings light and therefore happiness with it. There is also an idea of light connected with Russell when he interrupts his father on the path of life, and acts as a guide to his father, showing him what the meaning of his life now is. We are told in very simple terms that Russell “lit it as you ran”. Really Paterson should be guiding Russell as his father, but here it is the other way round as Russell shows his father the true meaning of life.

1. Explain how appropriate you find the title to the poem’s central concerns.
   The poems title is very appropriate to the central concerns of the poem – them being time and place. The title speaks of the time they will get the bus 11:00. There could also be another reference here to time – the eleventh hour as at the end of the poem the world has become very apocalyptic with everyone dying. The poem also focuses on a journey, with the destination quite clearly being marked out as Baldovan.

2. Identify and explain how the language of lines 1–4 conveys a sense of adventure about the two boys’ bus journey.
   The sense of adventure is introduced in lines 1 with the phrase “base Camp” to describe the bus stance. It suggests that this is where they are starting out from and where they will return to after a voyage, like they are scaling Everest or going on an expedition. This idea is further created with the “steel flag” in line two. This suggests they have somehow conquered this land and are claiming it as their own before they go out exploring

3. Comment on the effect of the list used in lines 5–8.
   The list in these lines describes the different types of coins the boy has. This creates a sense that the boy feels incredibly wealthy. It is also quite humorous as actually what the boy is carrying around is small change, but he feels he possesses a lot of money.

4. Explain how a change of tone is created in lines 11–16.
   At the start of the poem there was a tone of excitement and adventure. This has changed to a sense of uneasiness. The word ‘however’ is placed right at the start of the line to emphasise the contradiction about to come. The boys are going on an adventure on the bus, but now they feel apprehensive about getting on it. He describes his worry as ‘obscure’ suggesting that there is no real reason to worry about getting on the bus as it is such an ordinary activity yet they have never done it before and are slightly freaked out about having to do it alone. The speaker also lists the questions he asks, showing he is unsure of what to do.

5. Identify and analyse the effectiveness of any two poetic techniques in lines 18–24 that convey the speaker’s fears of travelling to a new place.
   There is a metaphor in line 19 that conveys the speaker’s fears of travelling to a new place. He describes their destination as “another country”. They are not really travelling to a foreign place but he sees it as being somewhere spiritually different from his home and so associates it with the ‘other’. He then goes on to describe how the streets “suddenly forget their names”. This is a transferred epithet as in actuality the boys have forgotten the name of the streets in this foreign place. There is a sense of aggression in line 22 as the shopkeeper shows hostility in his “shaking” fist when they ask for sweeties he cannot identify. A more sympathetic shopkeeper would have offered the boys help. He then “calls his wife through” suggesting they will now mock the boys or chase them.

6. Comment on the effect of the parallel structure/repetition of ‘and’ in lines 21–30.
   The parallel structure and repetition of ‘and’ in lines 21-30 creates a sense of growing panic. There is no break at all in these lines and the sense of terror is created through the lack of breath as much as the growing list of things that could go wrong. The ‘and’ connects a very graphic list of things that are not quite right in this new future world where the boys have found themselves. There is the old apocalyptic looking bus, the physical changes to their own bodies, the “black waves” which will suck them under and the lack of their families.

7. Identify and analyse two ways in which a nightmarish atmosphere is created in lines 24–30.
   The sense of being in a nightmare is already established in line 24 when the speaker says ‘ever make it home again’. The word choice here gives a sense that there is a possibility of not returning to where they came from and that they might remain lost forever. The catastrophic image is then introduced with the word choice “charred wreck” to describe the bus. ‘charred’ suggests it has been physically burnt out and there is a possibility that someone has done this to the bus, physically inflicting harm upon it. The word ‘wreck’, short and simple, shows just how badly damaged the machine is. There is a sense that the boys no longer recognise themselves when it read ‘our voices sound funny’ they don’t understand to begin with why they sound so strange. It is of course because they have grown up into men and their voices have broken. The final nightmarish image is introduced in the last line – ‘our sisters and mothers are fifty years dead’. Their family has died and there is no one familiar near them. This last line is particularly significant as the family members singled out are female which could also suggest that the nurturing figures in their life are no longer present, making them feel incredibly vulnerable.

8. The semi-colon at the end of line 17 could be said to mark a turning point in the poem, dividing it into two. Explain, by close reference to the use of language and structure, how the poet creates a contrast between the former and latter halves of the poem.
   At the start of the poem the speaker seems very self-assured and in control of himself. There is only the slightest hint of worry at travelling without an adult. There is a tone of confidence in the phrase ‘first time ever on our own’. The emphasis on ever and own hint at the pride he feels doing this. There is then a simple statement ‘I plan to buy comics, sweeties and magic tricks’ which show he has a clear line of thought about what he intends to do when he gets to Baldovan. The creeping doubt kicks in nearer the turning point when he begins to list worries and questions – ‘where we should we sit, when to pull the bell’. Here we can see him worrying about what it is he should do when he gets on the bus, he isn’t sure about how to take responsibility for himself. After the turning point there is a genuine feeling of alarm. The speaker describes the streets as ‘wrong’ showing that he feels alienated from them. He reinforces this feeling with the phrase ‘no one will have heard of the sweets we ask for’. The blanket term that everyone in this new world will not have heard of the things they ask for shows that they are in an alien territory. The shop keepers speech to his wife – ‘come here and see this’ – again suggests that the boys are something to be mocked and that they are different and strangers in a world where nothing is familiar as the locals don’t take kindly to them.