Presentation of the poem \"Peter and Jane\" by Wendy COPE (1986) PDF

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Summary

Présentation du poème « Peter and Jane » de Wendy COPE, Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis (1986), dans le cadre du cours d'anglais de littérature anglaise.
Les notes de cet exposé sont en Anglais.
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Description

Wendy COPE, from Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis (1986)!

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! Wendy Cope is a contemporary English poet, born on July 21st, 1945, in Kent (not too far from London). She currently lives in Winchester w/ her husband, who’s also a poet.!

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STYLE? ! She writes about the contemporary society & aspects of the daily life such as relationships/marriage, confusion, desire…! ! She uses humour in her poems, & some of them are parodies.!

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! She really decided to go into writing @ the age of 41 (in 1986) when she chose to become a freelance writer, after years of teaching in London, (1st being a College professor and then a primary school teacher). So children occupied quite a part of her life, & even though she mostly writes adult poetry, a few of her poems are for children. In fact, 2 of her published poems collections are for children. ! ! Concerning her adult poetry, 4 collections of her poems have been published, including Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis —where the poem we’re going to focus on is from— and which is actually her first ever published poem collection. Plus, it was a great success !!

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! The fame of her work led COPE on a pedestal & that’s why she was made O.B.E (= Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2010. The Order of the British Empire rewards those who contribute to the arts & sciences through their work in Great Britain or charitable organisations. So she was rewarded as a poet, for her great contribution to the arts in GB. !

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• The book/collection! ! Reading Scheme was published in 1986, in the collection Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis => Kingsley Amis was an English poet from the 20th century, but also a novelist & a teacher, he’s considered as one of the greatest British writers.!

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the context! • The title // ! Let’s explain the title: A reading scheme is, in other words, a method/way to teach reading. Instead of learning to read on «" normal/real" » books, children in the UK use reading scheme books (= Peter & Jane) @ school, written in simple words.! ! COPE explained that the poem Reading Scheme was inspired by the reading scheme of the publishing company Ladybird and other reading schemes of that time, which she had to use when she was a teacher in primary school.! Indeed, the British publishing company Ladybird Books published the «! Key Words Reading Scheme! » , which is a series of textbooks to teach reading w/ stories and poems. This series is also referred to as «!Peter and Jane!» who are its main characters. «"Peter"» and «"Jane"» which turn out to be the exact names that COPE gave to 2 of the characters of her own poem. On the American reading scheme series, the main male character = named differently: Dick (not Peter), and the female character is still named Jane. ! But COPE is English so she came across the British version of the reading scheme, which is why she kept the same names.!

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• Explaining the text in general!

1st IMPRESSIONS: ! - we get that Peter & Jane = brother & sister. They have a dog, a nice home w/ a playground, toys, etc. Just like in the «! Key Words Reading Scheme! » stories used in schools.! 1  sur 3 

- we get that the poem is also about marital infidelity (the mother is having an affair w/ the milkman) and she’s not really hiding it from her kids. The husband even finds out.!

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• Analysis!

The composition of the poem:!

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It’s a villanelle. It’s a poem form in 19 lines, with 5 tercets followed by 1 quatrain. ! Form of the lines = fix (‘fix form’)! The 1st & 3rd line of the 1st tercet repeated alternately until the last stanza! = 1st line (x3) & 3rd line ends almost all the stanzas (4/6 stanzas end w/ «"_____"»)!

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Poem is composed of end-rhymes (@ the end of each line) & in a cross rhyme form, so AB/AB.!

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! There are also many repetitions : of verbs that are used very frequently, such as look, see, go, come, but also lots of anaphoras, especially w/ “Here is“ (1st line). The 2nd stanza is even full of the anaphora “Here is“ (each line starts w/ it).! = It highlights an obsession or an idea.!

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COPE used lots of repetitions bc it’s the same in the reading schemes. The goal of repetition = to help children to memorize commonly used words/verbs.!

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There’s a parallelism twice: • line 2 (doll/ball)! ! ! ! ! • line 8 (he likes mummy / she likes them all)! This highlights a contrast.!

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The first book uses the 12 key words which are used repeatedly ("Here is Peter", "Peter is here", "Here is Jane", "Jane is here", "I like Peter", "I like Jane"). Additional words are introduced gradually, page by page, to expand the reader's reading vocabulary.!

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! It feels like the poem was written by a child, or at least that it’s from a child’s PoV :! • "Mummy" & "Daddy" sounds childish, the poet used these child’s terms for mother & father on purpose, as a hint.! • The words used & the sentences are very short & simple.! = It seems that "Peter" is the one explaining the situation, and he’s a child so that’s why the poem sounds like it’s been written by a kid. !

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! There are lots of punctuation marks: mostly exclamation points (everywhere), full stops (not just used at the end of a line but everywhere), & commas.! ! The rhythm of the poem is fast, bc of the short phrases, the punctuation & the repetitions —> it seems like everything is happening suddenly & he doesn’t have time to explain. We can miss some details.! ! Plus, he’s often talking directly to his sister Jane, (the refrain, telling her to "look", line 3). BUT most of the time, he’s showing us the situation —> he only presents what he sees/hear without explaining the thoughts of the other characters.!

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1st IMPRESSION = cliché of the perfect family but it’s ironic bc the mother has an affair w/ the milkman & other men. Our impression is totally wrong.!

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To sum up, this poem is a satiric or ironic imitation of the reading scheme stories & ! poems used to teach children how to read and that Wendy COPE had to use when she 2  sur 3 

was a teacher. So she was inspired by her own experience w/ these reading techniques that she seems to disapprove.! All the cliché references were on purpose. She mocks how the reading scheme textbooks are socially stereotypical.! Although this poem seems to be simple enough for children, it is not. The marital infidelity subject belongs to adult poetry.!

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((ANALYSIS))$ Reading Scheme" Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun. => Anaphora of «"Here is"»! Jane has a big doll. Peter has a ball. =>> CLICHÉ of toys for children, stereotypical (on purpose)! Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!!

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1st STANZA = 2 characters playing, we know their names. 2 kids + 1 dogs = family. Playing w/ toys, seem happy. They’re most probably bro/sis.

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Here is Mummy. She has baked a bun.! Here is the milkman. He has come to call. => Anaphora of «"Here is"» @ each line of this stanza!!!! Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun. ! ! 2nd STANZA = Mother is introduced. Baking/in the kitchen = another cliché.!

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Go Peter! Go Jane! Come, milkman, come!! The milkman likes Mummy. She likes them all.! Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!! 3rd STANZA = it gets weird, in the 2nd line insinuates that the mother is having an affair w/ the milkman + others. The milkman likes her.

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Here are the curtains. They shut out the sun.! Let us peep! On tiptoe Jane! You are small! => «"Let…Jane"» => allitération en t & p = order! Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun.! 4th STANZA = Wife & milkman s’isolent & Children are curious.

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I hear a car, Jane. The milkman looks glum. (= morose)! Here is Daddy in his car. Daddy is tall.! Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run!! 5th STANZA = The husband is coming back while her wife’s ___ is still here. The milkman is scared bc he also heard the car, like Peter. The kid adds that he’s tall : tall = strong.

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Daddy looks very cross. Has he a gun?! Up milkman! Up milkman! Over the wall!! Here is Peter. Here is Jane. They like fun.! Look, Jane, look! Look at the dog! See him run! 6th STANZA = the husband discovered the affair and he’s mad => Threatens the milkman aggressively (line 2, «!!!» x3) & w/ his gun mentioned line 1. The poem ends up w/ the 1st & last lines of the 1st stanza.

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