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1. Old Man, Old Man
4. More vocabulary connoisseur expert
complement range
demoted opposite of promoted
obdurate stubborn, hardhearted
5. Final three stanzas Old man, old man,
So obdurate in your contracted world,
Living in almost-dark, I can see you
You said to me, but only as a cloud.
When I left, you tried not to cry. I love
Your helplessness, you who hate being helpless.
Let me find your hammer. Let me
Walk with you to Drury Lane. I am only a cloud
6. Final three stanzas These lines alter the way in which we read the rest of the poem. It no longer seems to be just about the man, but about his relationship with the narrator.
What do these lines suggest about the relationship between these two people in the past?
How has it changed? What does the narrator hope it will be like in the future?
7. The Past vs The Present Use a coloured key to underline/highlight the phrases that refer to the man in the past and in the present.
Notice how many of these are almost opposites U.A. Fanthorpe cleverly shows the contrast between stubborn masculinity and absent-minded senility
8. Oppositions Underline one example of each of these oppositions:
words to do with control and weakness
words to do with authority and incompetence
memories and descriptions of the present
poetic and colloquial (or everyday) language
descriptions of feelings and descriptions of objects
thoughts and speech
references to the old man in the third person (he) and the second person (you)
9. Written Response Analyse one of the oppositions or themes in this poem in a short paragraph.
Here is an example using the authority versus incompetence:
10. The words to do with authority are mainly associated with the man and are found in the sections of the poem describing the past. The words to do with weakness refer mainly to the old man what he has become in the present. They suggest he is no longer the powerful, authoritative perhaps frightening figure he once was. He is now dependent on his daughter who loves his helplessness. However, the repetition of the word Let in the final verse makes it sound as though she is still having to plead to be allowed to do anything to help.