‘Glasgow Sonnets (i)’ Edwin Morgan

1. ‘Glasgow Sonnets (i)’Edwin Morgan

2. Context The Gorbals is a district in the south side of Glasgow. One of the oldest settlements in the city, it grew on the south bank of the Clyde across from the city centre. This led to a mish-mash of unplanned housing which soon descended into slums. In the 19th century, the Victorians tried to resolve this problem by building a tenement community that contained pubs, shops and schools. However, the population of the Gorbals grew to around 60,000 which caused unprecedented overcrowding and the area once again descended into a slum. The problem was first addressed by Glasgow City Council as early as 1919 in a Royal Commission. The area was referred to as Hell's Hundred Acres in several newspapers and contributed greatly to the city's grimy No Mean City image with its extraordinary socio-economic problems.

3. Context In the aftermath of World War 2, the Gorbals was the first district in Glasgow to be granted Comprehensive Development Area status. This would mean that the tenements would be completely demolished and new housing experiments built on the cleared land. It was the largest project of its kind in the UK and construction began in 1958 and ended in 1975. Morgan wrote the poem ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’, which describes a decrepit tenement block, in 1972. So, what was life like in these tenements before they were demolished? Photos from urbanglasgow.co.uk

4. The back-court behind the tenements on the west side of Crown Street, Glasgow 1973

5. 46-50 Abbotsford Place, December 1975. It was probably not formally occupied at this late date - were they squatters at the top floor window? or urban explorers?

6. McKinlay St and Turriff St. Elgin St U F Church. September 1973

7. Gorbals Street, November 1973

8. Albion Place. The Gorbals December 1973

9. Oxford St, north side between Bridge St and S. Portland St. Tenement dated from around 1815. November 1973

10. Herbertson St, or what remained of it. April 1973

11. 1975 – new high-rise being built in the background and semi-demolished tenements in the foreground.

12. The building of Queen Elizabeth high rise plus the old buildings in Lawmoor St, Mathieson St and Cumberland St.

13. Abbotsford Place, east side. July 1973

14. Abbotsford Place, more than anywhere else in the Gorbals, anywhere else in the city, had an air of faded grandeur. It was a ruined, down-and-out aristocrat of a street. Built, without uniformity but harmoniously enough, between 1820 and 1830, it was to be a douce New Town for professional people, just a step across the river from the city. The width of the street was generous, each flat had an interior wc and a bath, which was an exceptional luxury in these days, and generally five spacious apartments, the dining room around 22ft by 16ft. For 30 or 40 years it was a ’good’ address, but the coming of the railway gave the middle classes the freedom to move further afield, to leafy suburbs far from the city slums, and the decline of Abbotsford Place (and Cumberland St and Nicholson St and others) was rapid. The size of the flats meant they were highly suitable for multiple occupancy, and successive waves of immigrants, Irish, eastern European Jews, Italians, and more recently Asians found in them a foothold on the property ladder. These tenements were soundly built, and could have been refurbished. The lack of imagination which led to their removal was shameful. urbanglasgow.co.uk

15. Interior of miner's tenementPhotograph: E. Smith (1954)Source: RIBA British Architectural Library Photographs Collection This interior of a Glasgow tenement (1954). The architectural elements of this room are hardly distinguished. The walls, unadorned by pictures, are decorated only by distress: spreading cracks and patches of damp can easily be spotted. Ramshackle shutters keep some of the light and cold out from this miserable room. The only distinguished feature is the fireplace, the lit fire enjoyed by the cat. The rest is mean, the flooring and furniture tired. http://www.architecture.com/howwebuiltbritain/historicalperiods/scottish/housing1600-2000/interiorofminerstenement.aspx

16. If you want to find out more about life in the Gorbals at the time that the poem was written, click on the following links: BBC - Glasgow - Nana's memories of tenement life Short film about The Gorbals 1930-2011 Glasgow in the 1970s - Last days of the Old Gorbals

17. The tenement slums were demolished and replaced by new high rise homes that were intended to provide satisfactory, cheap housing on the south bank of the Clyde. The daring initiative was the largest project of its kind in the United Kingdom. At the heart of these plans were to be spectacular towers designed by acclaimed architect Basil Spence. However, the areas surrounding these tower blocks lacked basic amenities, and they were poorly designed and cheaply built. As demonstrated elsewhere in the UK, such buildings gradually deteriorated, attracting crime and fostering a reputation for being undesirable low cost housing.

18. Built in the 1960s Built in the 1900s the last remaining tenement in the Gorbals

19. ‘High-rise’ buildings like these replaced tenement blocks in the 1960s / 70s.

20. Although a daring and unprecedented 'adventure' into social housing, the regeneration of the Gorbals in the form of new high-rise buildings proved to be unsuccessful in the long term. Queen Elizabeth Square is one of the most famous high rise experiments in the history of British housing projects. Located in Hutchesontown in Glasgow's notorious Gorbals, it was meant to be the flagship for an exciting new dawn.

21. QES under construction

23. In 1984, the flats were found to be asbestos ridden and had to be stripped of the dangerous panels of asbestos over the next year. The problems for QES were to get worse. In 1987, all the flats were evacuated after being flooded. Glasgow District Council spent £2m over the following 2 years on new lifts, new pitched roofs and a concierge station in an effort to cut crime which was rising to uncontrollable levels as problems in the Gorbals increased. Brutal rapes, assaults and muggings were becoming all to common in the damp dark corridors. These measures were to prove futile as QES was once again flooded in 1989. Many residents had had enough and opted to be rehoused rather than face returning to their homes. This ‘flagship’ housing turned out, once again, to be an icon for poverty and deprivation. http://ukhousing.wikia.com/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_Square

24. Many of these high-rises have been demolished in recent years to be replaced by better planned, lower density housing with better amenities. It is generally accepted that the original tenements, like the one described in the poem, should have been renovated rather than destroyed.

25. ‘Glasgow Sonnet (i)’ Edwin Morgan

26. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattressespuff briefly and subside. Play-fortressesof brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash.Four storeys have no windows left to smash,but in the fifth a chipped sill buttressesmother and daughter the last mistressesof that black block condemned to stand, not crash.Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob.Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall.The man lies late since he has lost his job,smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fallthinly into an air too poor to rob.

27. First of all, we are going to look at the formandstructure of the poem.

28. This poem is written in the form of a SONNET. The sonnetis a poetic form with a particular STRUCTURE. Although there are different forms of sonnets, they all have 14 LINES. This is a PETRARCHAN Sonnet, originally created by the Italian, Francesco Petrarch in the 14th Century. In Petrarchan sonnets: The first 8 lines are known as the OCTET. The octet has the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA The last 6 lines are known as the SESTET. The sestet has the rhyme scheme CDCDCD

29. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) A B The rhyming scheme does not create a rhythm due to the mixture of run on lines (enjambment) and end stopped lines in the poem. B A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash.5 Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl.10 The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. A A B B A C D C D C D

30. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) What is the effect of the use of regular rhyme in the poem? A B B A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash.5 Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl.10 The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. A A The poet uses rhyme to make a point about poverty. It will never change. Those who experience it are stuck. B B A C D C D C D

31. In Petrarchan sonnets: The OCTETpresents a PROBLEM – The VOLTA – the beginning of the sestet – marks a CHANGE IN TONE. The SESTET– makes a COMMENT ON THE PROBLEM. this is a series of statements that make us think about a CERTAIN TRUTH. There are 10 syllables in each line (but in this poem it is not regularly iambic pentameter, which means 1 stressed + 1 unstressed syllable x 5)

32. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) The OCTETpresents a PROBLEM – this is a series of statements that make us think about a CERTAIN TRUTH. What is this problem? A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. The VOLTA – the beginning of the sestet – marks a CHANGE IN TONE. What comment is Morgan making? The SESTET– makes a COMMENT ON THE PROBLEM.

33. What other division is there between the Octet and the Sestet? Think about the subject matter of each one.

34. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) The first quatrain (lines 1-4) describe the backcourt. The OCTET describes the OUTSIDE VIEW. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. The second quatrain (lines 5-8) describe the building. 1st 3 lines of the sestet (end stopped) describe the flat. The SESTET describes the INSIDE VIEW. 2nd three lines of the sestet (run on) describe the man.

35. Why does Morgan use the sonnet form for this poem? • We usually think of sonnets as having a beautiful form, and they are normally associated with the subject of love. • However, Morgan has chosen to use this form in order to create a stark contrast between what we expect in a sonnet, and what can be seen as the extremely shocking content of this sonnet about poverty. • This has the effect of forcefully emphasising the poem’s content.

36. Now we are going to look at the use of literary techniques in the poem.

37. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Word Choice Description of the tenement itself Words associated with decay A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. Words associated with rubbish Description of the tenants Words associated with disease You need to think about the CONNOTATIONS of each word/phrase , but overall the word choice is very negative , suggesting THEMES such as neglect, poverty, ill health and decay.

38. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Personification What is the effect of the personification in the poem? A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. It is used to dramatise the setting , creating a mood of THREAT (‘mean wind’, ‘hackles rise’ etc) or DESPAIR (‘puff briefly’, ‘whimpers’ etc)

39. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Metaphor What is the effect of the metaphor used in the poem? A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. The images suggest decay spreading , adding to the sense of threat.

40. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Sound Techniques Sound techniques emphasise the words / ideas they are attached to. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob.

41. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Sound Techniques Alliteration A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. What is the effect of alliteration in the poem? The soft ‘w’ highlights the aimlessness of the wind. The plosive ‘b’ highlights the harsh, sinister description of the block of flats and its surroundings.

42. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Sound Techniques Onomatopoeia A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. What is the effect of onomatopoeia in the poem? It dramatises the sounds.

43. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Sound Techniques Assonance A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. What is the effect of assonance in the poem? ‘Roses of mould grow’ - suggests mould spreading ‘too poor to rob’ - highlights poverty

44. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Sound Techniques End rhyme A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. What is the effect of the use of end rhyme in the poem? It emphasises decay and destruction.

45. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Enjambment One line runs on to the next with no end punctuation. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob. What is the effect of enjambment in the poem? It creates the sense of more and more signs of decay building up.

46. Analysis

47. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Analysis The opening line establishes the THEMES of poverty, decay and hopelessness. The wind is described as ‘mean’ rather than simply ‘cold’. Personification is used to refer to the wind as if it were a cruel / unkind / unwelcomeperson seeking out people to torment. This emphasises how hostile the environment is and contributes to the unpleasant atmosphere of the poem. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob.

48. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Analysis Personification: as with the air, the puddles are given a personality. In this case they are angry / aggressive. The description ‘hackles on puddles rise’ suggests that the ripples in the puddles caused by the wind look like the hairs standing up on an animal’s neck when it is angry. This suggests violence and danger. The setting is wholly unwelcoming and even intimidating. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob.

49. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Analysis Personification is used again. The mattresses are worn out / finished. They appear to take their last breath before giving in. They are trash: discarded. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob.

50. From Glasgow Sonnets (i) Analysis The ‘trash’ of the opening line is explored. The landscape is punctuated with a jumble of rubbish. Imagery: The piles of bricks and old rubbish (‘bric-a-brac’)are described as ‘play-fortresses’. This suggests that the children’s games are connected to violence and aggression, possibly suggesting the beginnings of gang warfare. This implies that the people on the estate are under siege. Alliteration: The harsh sounds of ‘brick’ and ‘bric-a-brac’ reflect the violence they are used for. A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash. Hackles on puddles rise, old mattresses puff briefly and subside. Play-fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash. Four storeys have no windows left to smash, but in the fifth a chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter the last mistresses of that black block condemned to stand, not crash. Around them the cracks deepen, the rats crawl. The kettle whimpers on a crazy hob. Roses of mould grow from ceiling to wall. The man lies late since he has lost his job, smokes on one elbow, letting his coughs fall thinly into an air too poor to rob.