THIRTEEN

• Themes


  memory- a wider view

  lonliness/isolation-in a london / lines written/ name

  conflict- a century

  power+ authority- a century

  opression- a century

  prejudice- a century

  injustice- a century

  education+ change- a century

  time- a century
• “thirteen”

  literal age if speaker + connotates of youthfulness and vulnerability.

  Transition between childhood + adulthood = the poem tracks the premature loss of innocence

  Even as a youth, the speaker is subjected to the scrutiny and potential discrimination of law

  enforcement. Here, the poet emphasises that systemic racism can permeate various aspects of society,

  impacting the lives of marginalised individuals from a young age.

  13 is considered unlucky
• “you will be four minutes from

  home

  when you are cornered by an officer”


  second person= confront reality + placed in position of the speaker

  Future tense + the modal verb “will” = inevitable encounter

  “Home” has connotations of a place of safety + security; this is violated by policeman

  Verb “cornered” creates sense of helplessness; there is a loss control for the speaker who is trapped in a threatening situation
• “he told your class that

  you were all supernovas

  the biggest and brightest stars”


  “Class” = primary school + innocence

  The extended metaphor of the “star” is introduced

  “Supernovas”= aspiration, bright futures + potential

  Superlatives “biggest”, “brightest” implies opportunity and unrealised potential, but can also be read as insincere
• “you power-less plump

  you will watch the two men cast lots for your organs“


  Adjectives + plosives “powerless” and “plump” = predatory nature of officer

  Contrasts to youthfulness + vulnerability of teenager

  Verb “watch” = speaker lacks agency

  ”Casting lots” is a biblical metaphor = emphasises the speakers lack of control and power

  Image of “organs” suggests a threat of violence
• “how they are, in fact, dying stars

  on the verge of becoming black holes“


  Switch to factual tone “in fact” highlights the development across the poem from hope and opportunity to the speakers reality of discrimination

  Extended metaphor “dying stars” “black holes” = reflects the journey of promise to despair
• -A boy is stopped by the police and told that he matches the description of a man who has

  committed a crime. The boy explains that he is thirteen years old.

  -The boy recognises one of the officers from an assembly at his old primary school – he

  remembers that the officer told his class that they were supernovas, a type of star.

  -The poem ends with the boy’s memory of his teacher explaining that supernovas are

  dying stars