Class game

• who wrote this

  Mary casey
• where was it published

  to the magazine “Voices” which was where ordinary people published poems
• when was this published

  1979
• key quotes

  “Cos we live in a corpy not some pretty little semi”

  “we’ll mate, a cleaner is me mother an docker is me brother “

  “dont i crook my little finger when i drink me tea”
• who is mary casey

  she was a house wife form liverpool
• summary of the poem

  the poem explores the differences she has observed herself as a working class contratsed to the middle/upper class . The poem centralised about these differences however she states that she is proud of who she is and her class
• summary of how the poem goes

  poem opens with speaker questioning the reader on how they assume her class

  then it stats to compare her upbringings with those is higher social tel class

  she uses rhetorics questions to continue to compare

  at the end , it concludes with speaker saying she’s proud of her upbringing
• structure of class game ?

  -monologue format - seen to be sharing emotional , personal and didactic information and feeling to the reader .it centres around one’s feeling as personal experience of class and labels

  -rhyming couplets - in middle of poem the sunken rhyme scheme may reflect the simple way of life for those belonging to working class - the thing structure also creates a beat making it seem like an argument

  -enjambment- make poem sound more informal and conversational in order to engage reader

  -rhetorical questions

  -repetition
• analyse BRIEFLY “don’t i crook me little finger when i drink me tea”

  imagery of crooking the finger associated with stereotypical upper class peoples mannerism in British society. Its commonly portrayed as a symbol of sophistication , a gesture people use to signal class status.It critiques the class based manners and challenges these expectations that people from a marginalised backgrounds use to dominate cultural standards

  quote shows speaker is aware of these expectations but rejects them to show she is proud of her class and where she stand in society compared to others
• analyse BRIEFLY “Cos we live in a corpy not some pretty little semi

  The noun “corpy” refers to council hiuse which is associated with working class neighbourhoods. these houses are seemed as less desirable in british society often seemed as disadvantaged.

  “semi” refer to semi detached house which commonly associated with odd led class , this contrast to corpy to show the class division.These houses more spacious and considered nicer and more desirable

  “pretty little semi”adjective orrery impels bodied mroe outwardly appealing, more socially acceptable
• what’s the form of this poem

  personal pronouns “i” and ”you” used to emphasise division between classes.

  poem has imperfect form mostly wrmitten in rhyming couplets but some are half rhymes , which reflects speakers belief that their informal language is important