Context/Abt the author

• Written by Mary Casey in 1981 - Not much is known about Mary Casey, other than she was a housewife from Liverpool
• The poem is a criticism of the British class system, which is broadly divided into Upper, Middle and Lower/Working classes
• At the time when the poem was written, there was a large divide between the wealthy and the poor
• Although some would argue that divide has become smaller, others would suggest the opposite
• The poem attacks stereotypes of working class people, but there is also a sense of resentment towards the middle class
• The poem is written in Liverpudlian dialect, not the standard ‘BBC English’ of the middle classes