S4 Scottish Text

1. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' The next Morgan poems that we will investigate is ‘Good Friday’. Again, this is among the most famous of Morgan’s poems and it recalls an encounter on a Glasgow bus that the poet had on Good Friday. Like ‘Trio’ the poem uses the Glasgow location and a chance encounter to review the theme of religion and the human spirit.

2. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' As is the case with many of his poems, Morgan bases ‘Good Friday’ on an everyday experience and an encounter that he had on a bus. This is in keeping with Morgan’s reputation as a poet who tackles real life issues and observes the lives of real people.

3. The picture above is of people on a bus. It is a situation that most of us will be very familiar with (unless we are chauffeur driven everywhere). Before we begin to look at the poem, try to imagine this location. Think carefully about it and take a note of how it would impact your five senses: Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch and Smell.

4. Creative Writing You are now going to use these descriptive words to create a paragraph in which you describe what it feels like to be inside a bus such as this one. You should use your knowledge of your five senses to help create a realistic account of how this bus could make you feel. We will use these ideas as we look at the poem.

5. Creative Writing As I turned the pages of my book, I realised that I was not really concentrating. The noise of the group of girls behind me was too distracting. All I could hear was their repeated shrieks of ‘Oh my God!’ as they proclaimed the latest piece of scandalous playground gossip. Longing to be home, I looked out of the window and I could see the wet city streets reflecting the streetlights above. The doors of the bus were thrown open and a man boarded clutching a pizza box. The smell filled the space and competed with the noise for my attention as I longed for the light to turn green and for us to be on our way once more.

6. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' As with ‘Trio’, before we move to look at the poem in more detail, it is important that we gain an understanding of the religious symbolism that it contains. The poem takes place on Good Friday and contains a number of references to the crucifixion of Jesus which is said to have taken place on that day. Christians believe that Jesus then rose from the dead on the third day (Easter Sunday).

7. Matthew 27:17Having been betrayed by one of his disciples, Jesus was taken by the Chief Priests to a man named Pontius Pilate. Unable to find a case against Jesus, Pilate presented him to the Jewish people and asked them to decide what should happen to him. He gave them the chance to release either Jesus or a known criminal called Barabbas. So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, 'Which one shall I release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called the messiah?'

8. Matthew 27:22Pilate said to them, 'Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the messiah?' And they all said, 'Crucify him!' To his surprise, the Jewish people opted to release Barabbas. Unable to see a just case against Jesus, Pilate famously washes his hands of the sentence: Jesus is to be condemned to death by crucifixion.

9. Mark 15:34, Luke 23:46At 3 PM, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?' When he had said this, he breathed his last.

10. Luke 24:2Following his death, Jesus was quickly buried in a tomb belonging to a man named Joseph of Arimathea as the next day was the Sabbath. On the Sunday, three women, including Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb of Jesus, but the women found that the stone had already been rolled away from the tomb.

11. The title of the poem is important. This is the day in the Christian calendar in which it is believed that Christ was crucified. It should be a particularly sad and respectful day and is traditionally seen as a day of fast and abstinence. 'Good Friday' Three o’clock. The bus lurches round into the sun. ‘D’s this go –‘he flops beside me – 'right along Bath Street? The time is very significant as this is believed to be the exact moment that Christ died. This is the moment when Christians across the world will be praying for the death of their God. The word choice here with ‘the sun’, opens the poem with a positive, warm tone.

12. The dialect here (like it is used in ‘Trio’) is used to place the poem in Glasgow and adds some realism to it. 'Good Friday' Three o’clock. The bus lurches round into the sun. ‘D’s this go –‘he flops beside me – 'right along Bath Street? The use of a well known Glasgow location is useful as it helps us to locate the poem. The description of how the man ‘flops’ is our first clue that he may be drunk.

13. S4 Scottish Text The man’s priority is to buy Easter Eggs for ‘the kiddies’. This places a suggested importance on family in the poem. 'Good Friday' • Oh tha's, tha's all right, see I've got to get some Easter eggs for the kiddies. I’ve had a wee drink, ye understand – There is a refreshing honesty from the man at this point. Although it is fairly obvious that he has ‘had a wee drink’ he feels that he must explain his actions.

14. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' This is a reference to the fact that Good Friday should be a solemn and sad day. • ye’ll maybe think it’s a – funny day to be celebrating – well, no, but ye see I wasny working, and I like to celebrate when I’m no working – I don’t say it’s right More importantly for the man is the fact that Good Friday is a holiday. He had a day off work and had decided to make the most of it. He doesn’t completely defend his actions, but provides an explanation.

15. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' The repetition here highlights that the man does not wish to be judged. I'm no saying it's right, ye understand - ye understand? But anyway tha’s the way I look at it – I’m no boring you, eh? – ye see today, This is an indication that the poet may be ignoring the man. Once again though, the dialogue is realistic and believable. Again, this is the man attempting to justify his own behaviour.

16. S3 Scottish Text Here the man expresses his own opinion of the story of Good Friday. It is clear that he is not religious and does not believe in the events as they are described in the Bible. 'Good Friday' take today, I don’t know what today’s in aid of, whether Christ was – crucified or was he – rose fae the dead like, see what I mean? The lack of understanding or acceptance of these two events suggest that he has no belief in Christianity. These are the founding beliefs of the entire religion, but he dismisses them fairly easily. Again, the word like adds a sense of Glasgow dialect. A little like the word ‘but’ does in ‘Trio’.

17. S4 Scottish Text Here the man expresses his own opinion of the story of Good Friday. It is clear that he is not religious and does not believe in the events as they are described in the Bible. 'Good Friday' take today, I don’t know what today’s in aid of, whether Christ was – crucified or was he – rose fae the dead like, see what I mean? The lack of understanding or acceptance of these two events suggest that he has no belief in Christianity. These are the founding beliefs of the entire religion, but he dismisses them fairly easily. Again, the word like adds a sense of Glasgow dialect. A little like the word ‘but’ does in ‘Trio’.

18. There is a sense here that the man sees Morgan as being ‘better’ than him. This is worth thinking about…especially given that Morgan is not at church either. This does not seem to occur to the man. You’re an educatit man, you can tell me – • Aye, well. There ye are. It’s been seen • time and again, the working man • has nae education, he jist canny – jist • hasny got it, know what I mean, The man is quite self deprecating. He sees himself as lacking an education and an understanding of deeper, spiritual matters…yet perhaps he has more to offer? He is clearly living life and has good intentions. Is this not more valuable? There is also a sense that Morgan’s education will enable him to comment on such spiritual matters.

19. The man is attempting to define the differences between members of society. Here he creates a contrast between the educated and the working man. He is struggling to articulate the differences between them which leads to this very blunt statement. he’s jist bliddy ignorant – Christ aye, bliddy ignorant. Well –' The bus brakes violently, he lunges for the stair, swings down – off, into the sun for his Easter eggs, Easter eggs symbolise the giant stone that was placed in front of Jesus’ tomb. This significant moment has been reduced to the commercialism of chocolate eggs…yet this is all that matters to the man. He does not care about the religious significance…his priority is the joy that these chocolate eggs will bring. The words used emphasise the movements of the man as he makes his way off the bus.

20. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' The structure of the final lines is used to reflect the steps taken by the man as he makes his way off of the top floor of the bus. on very nearly steady legs. The end of the poem is in many ways a positive one. The man moves forward ready to celebrate Easter with ‘the kiddies’. His earlier debate about the divide between the ‘educaited’ and the working man are forgotten…as is the possible religious significance of the day. All that matters to him now is enjoying the day.

21. Where and when is the poem set? Why is the man, who speaks to the poet, on the bus? How does the writer use language to show the man is drunk? Comment on two separate features of language. What contrasts are made between the poet and the drunk man? What does the layout at the end of the poem show us? S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday'

22. What is the poet/speaker’s attitude towards the man. Choose one of the options below: Angry at him Disinterested Dislikes him Amused by him Finds him interesting It’s hard to tell Be ready to explain your answer. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday'

23. Consider the following statement: “I was born in Glasgow and have lived most of my life there, and whatever image the city has to the outside world, to me it underlies and pervades my feeling at a deep level of identification and sympathy." (Edwin Morgan) Does it help us understand the poet’s attitude to the drunk man?

24. The poet’s use of word choice, colloquial languageand sentence structure are key techniques in helping us understand the poem. They create a very vivid picture of the situation and the character the poet is describing. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday': Language

25. What does the poet’s use of “lurches” suggest about the way the bus is moving? The man “flops” beside the poet. What does this tells us about his movements? Why does he move this way? Why do you think the man uses the words “wee drink”? Look at the rest of the poem. What other words and phrases give us an impression of the drunk man? S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday': Word Choice

26. Morgan uses sentence structure to show the man is drunk – the poem is almost a monologue as the poet only uses his own words at the start and the end. Task: Read over the drunk man’s dialogue. What do you notice about the sentence structure? Think about punctuation, sentence length, etc. What does it convey to us about the man? S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' Sentence Structure

27. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' Finding Links... A key skill that you will need to learn is to be able to identify links between the Morgan poems that you study. These can be links between themes as well as links between language. Let us start by thinking about some of the key features of ‘Good Friday’ 'Good Friday'

28. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' Finding Links... 'Good Friday' Positives of the human spirit An observation of humanity Religion Poetic Techniques including Imagery, word choice, Punctuation.

29. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' Finding Links... It is this section that we are most interested in. This is where we can find areas of overlap between the two poems. 'Trio' 'Good Friday'

30. S4 Scottish Text 'Good Friday' Finding Links... Looking at both poems, can you identify as many areas of comparison as you possibly can between the two poems? 'Trio' 'Good Friday'

31. It is this section that we are most interested in. This is where we can find areas of overlap between the two poems. Both poems use Glasgow dialect. Both poems discuss religion. Both poems look at religious celebrations and suggest that the most important thing about these celebrations is not the religious element, but the fact that it brings us all together and makes us happy. The poet uses real life Glasgow locations to set his poem in. Here we have ‘Bath Street’, in ‘Trio’ it is Buchanan Street. 'Trio' 'Good Friday' Both poems focus on a scene observed by the poet in his home city of Glasgow. The poem ‘In the Snack Bar’ also does this.

32. The main connection between the three poems is that each of them are a celebration of human life in some ways. The key difference is that ‘Snack Bar’ sees the suffering as well as the joy. S3 Scottish Text 'Trio' Finding Links... 'Good Friday' 'Trio' All three poems are based upon a chance encounter that the poet has had in his home city of Glasgow. The poems all have distinctly Glasgow elements as well, in terms of character or location. All of these poems say something about life and the struggles that we all face. ‘Trio’ and ‘Good Friday’ see an opportunity to overcome these things. They see the chances that we have to celebrate. 'Trio' 'In The Snack-Bar'