In Mrs Tilscher’s Class Essay Example

pleasant atmosphere they enjoy at school. In stanza two, this positive environment continues, with the joy of school being summarized in one clear statement: "this was better than home."

Carol Ann Duffy compares school to a sweet shop, highlighting how much the child enjoys being there. The happy and cosy atmosphere is portrayed with the phrase "the classroom glowed like a sweet shop." The mention of "sugar paper" and "coloured shapes" suggests easy and pleasurable work, which is associated with primary school. This contrast with more difficult work, usually linked with negative connotations for older pupils, emphasizes the difference between primary and secondary schools.

At school, the child finds a sense of safety and comfort that shields her from the terrors of the outside world. Even though memories of events like the Moors Murders persist as a "faint, uneasy smudge," she feels protected within those classroom walls. Nevertheless, she is starting to realize that life's harsh realities cannot be ignored. Despite this growing awareness, her innocence remains clear from how she describes her teacher's affection: simply as "Mrs Tilscher loved you."

Learn about an absolutely ordinary rainbow. The excitement of receiving a gold star from Mrs Tilscher reinforces the theme of immaturity. The use of senses is also present as the child smells the carefully shaved scent of a pencil and hears the positive nonsense of another form's xylophone. Furthermore, personification is used to create a cheery atmosphere from the xylophone's sound.

It is possible that the mention of 'another form' suggests the children are anticipating and eager to comprehend the 'nonsense' produced by the xylophone. In the third

stanza, the poem's mood changes to a more negative and bitter tone compared to previous stanzas. The frog is described as 'croaking,' a term with more negative connotations. The child is growing up, transitioning from childhood to adolescence. "The inky tadpoles changed from commas to exclamation marks" metaphorically represents schoolchildren growing older. Although ink, tadpoles, commas and exclamation marks are all associated with school, they also symbolize the changes the child experiences while maturing into an adolescent.

Furthermore, there are exclamation marks at the conclusion of sentences which may signify the end of primary school. In addition, references to a "rough boy" and a "dunce" demonstrate that the child is starting to categorize and label individuals, indicating that she is maturing. Younger children do not generally engage in such conduct. However, we can recognize that the child has not fully matured since the "rough boy" informed her about her birth and she kicked him, but then gazed at her parents, disapproving when she reached home. This demonstrates that she is hesitant to believe what was said and momentarily behaves in an immature manner.

Despite her attempts to forget uncomfortable ideas, the girl realizes she cannot erase them from her memory. Sex is one such idea that she cannot unlearn, and she feels there is no turning back from her new awareness. The final stanza of the school year is bleak and depressing, with a "feverish" July sky creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. The girl is trying to sound more mature by using unusual words like "sexy" to describe the sky, but she feels "fractious" - irritable and restless - and doesn't know what to think.

The child's

trust and love for Mrs Tilscher is broken when she asks about her birth and the teacher "smiles and turns away." This rejection leads to a negative atmosphere. The child's eagerness to grow up is highlighted in the second-last line as she runs through the gates. This is in contrast to the beginning of the poem where she longed to be in school. The poem concludes with a metaphor, as the sky splits open into a thunderstorm providing relief. The "heavy, sexy sky" signals a fresh start after the storm clears and also represents the unsettled emotions the child may experience during adolescence, possibly illustrated by the rain, symbolizing tears inside.

To sum up, I believe that Carol Ann Duffy effectively employs various language techniques such as metaphors and sensory language throughout the poem to depict the transformations experienced by a child during their academic journey.