stanza 2

• "This was better than home"

  • Implies home is not ideal. The 1960s were a time of significant poverty in England, so school was an escape.
• "Enthralling books."

  • Minor sentence. The abruptness of the sentence underlines how these books were a source of genuine excitement for the children.
• "The classroom glowed like a sweet shop."

  • Simile. The classroom did not glow like gold - it glowed like a sweet shop: something much more important to children/ closely associated with happiness for children.
• "Sugar paper. Coloured shapes."

  • Duffy continues to detail the classroom with minor sentences. The room is so charming the paper even seems sweet and it is vibrant and multicoloured.
• "Brady and Hindley"

  • Shocking and jarring juxtaposition as Brady and Hindley's names are positioned beside the classroom decorations.
• "faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake."

  • The simile suggests that awareness of Brady and Hindley had not entirely disappeared, only diminished; 'uneasy smudge' and 'mistake' convey the idea of an unsuccessful attempt to erase an error.
• "Mrs Tilscher loved you."

  • Short sentence: reinforces that Mrs Tilscher cared for each of her students deeply. Suggests a maternal, benign, and committed teacher.
• "a good gold star by your name."

  • Promotion of self-worth through the reward system of "good gold" stars: She made the pupils feel wanted and treasured.
• "The scent of a pencil slowly, carefully, shaved."

  • By recalling sensory experiences she reinforces that memories of the distant past are often evoked by smells and sounds. The structure of this emphasises how much care the teacher puts into what she does.
• "A xylophone's nonsense"

  • Personification - the children aren't playing for learning, just to have fun. The sound of a badly played xylophone evokes another sensory experience that belonged to that place.