Transcript UNTO US... SPIKE MILLIGAN

UNTO US... SPIKE MILLIGAN
UNTO US.......

..For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ..(
Isaiah, 9, 6)
Somewhere at some time
They committed themselves to me
And so, I was!
Small, but I WAS!
Tiny, in shape
Lusting to live
I hung in my pulsing cave.
Soon they knew of me
My mother --my father.
I had no say in my being
I lived on trust
And love
Tho' I couldn't think
Each part of me was saying
A silent 'Wait for me
I will bring you love!‘
I was taken
Blind, naked, defenceless
By the hand of one
Whose good name
Was graven on a brass plate
in Wimpole Street,
and dropped on the sterile floor
of a foot operated plastic waste bucket.
There was no Queens Counsel
To take my brief.
The cot I might have warmed
Stood in Harrod's shop window.
When my passing was told
My father smiled.
No grief filled my empty space.
My death was celebrated
With tickets to see Danny la Rue
Who was pretending to be a woman
Like my mother was.
POETRY SHOULD MAKE US THINK!
Choose a poem which has made you think
about a topic you have never thought about in
detail before.
Briefly say what the poem is about, and in
greater detail, say what aspects of the topic you
have thought about.
PURPOSE (THEMES)
Abortion is wrong.
 Abortion can destroy a human who might grown
up to do great good in the world.

ORGANISATION (STRUCTURE)
35 line monologue
 1-16 Joyful and wanting to be born
 17 – Turning Point ‘I was taken’
 18-35 Bitter/sad and angry at being killed

EMOTIVE TONE

Happy then angry/sad
TECHNIQUES

repetition, metaphor, irony and contrast
INDIVIDUAL WORDS
Unto us.... Baby Jesus
 I was. I WAS. – it existed for a time
 No Queen’s Counsel etc
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CONTRAST
Contrast is when we compare two opposite
things. What is the contrast between the image
of the foetus in his "pulsing cave" and his last
moment in a "foot-operated plastic waste
bucket". Consider the coldness and openness
of the bucket.
 Or the contrast in the foetus's feelings or
thoughts between 1-16 and 18-35

ROLES OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE INVOLVED
VOICE OF CHILD
Foetus has a ‘persona’ The effect?
 ‘And so I was’ Joy in existence
 ‘Small, but I was’ A person from the
moment of conception
 ‘Lusting to live’ Positive desire to live
 ‘Blind, naked, defenceless’ Innocent and
vulnerable
 ‘I will bring you love’ Desire to bring love

ROLE OF PARENTS
Careless conception
 Parents responsible for child’s existence
 Child dependent on parents wanting
him/her
 ‘…smiled…’ Father glad that (s)he is dead
 ‘…no grief..’ Mother the same
 Death ‘…celebrated…’ Not mourned
 Mother denies natural instincts
Masquerading as a woman
 Parents rich and can afford baby

ROLE OF DOCTOR
‘…good name…’ Valuable service. IRONY
as his oath says ‘First do no harm’
 ‘…graven on a brass plate’ High reward
 ‘…dropped on the sterile floor’ Cold
indifference of surgeon
 ‘…plastic waste bucket’ Human life
disposed of as rubbish
 ‘…no Queen’s Counsel
 To take my brief’ No legal rights. Not seen
by the law as a person

ROLE OF POET
Milligan deliberately sets out to change our
opinions. He wants us to see abortion the
way he does.
 How does he influence us? By making us
sad? Makes us FEEL the sadness or pain the
baby goes through after the initial
joy/happiness/hope?
 Is he successful? Does he make reader
happy at first then sad?
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