Glasgow Sonnet

• When was it published?

  1972
• Themes?


  Poverty, social deprivation, urban decay
• Petrarchan Sonnet


  Octet focusing on the outside of the tenements and sestet focusing on the inside of the tenements
• Effective use of...?


  Word choice, personification, alliteration, metaphors and atmosphere
• "A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash"
• "A mean wind wanders through the backcourt trash"

  Word choice 'mean' connotations of cruel, unkind and unfriendly. Adds to the depressive atmosphere.

  Alliteration 'wind wanders' has a rushing 'w' sound like the wind. Adds to the cold atmosphere.

  Personification of the wind with word choice 'mean wind' shows wind is directionless and working against the people who live there.
• "Play fortresses of brick and bric-a-brac spill out some ash"

  Word choice 'fortresses' connotations of defence and protection. As if the children are building a defence from the poverty around them.

  Alliteration of 'bric-a-brac' makes harsh sound which adds to the tough atmosphere of poem.

  Word choice 'ash' has connotations of burnt out and destroyed, adds to the abandoned and forgotten atmosphere.
• "Four storeys have no windows left to smash"

  Word choice 'smash' has connotations of angry, hurt and broken. Adds to the rage felt due to urban decay.

  Imagery made by 'no windows left to smash' describes the broken windows and adds to the rundown environment. Shows the buildings are falling apart.

  Morgan uses social commentary to portray Glasgow how he sees it. Adds to the depressing cold and abandoned atmosphere.
• "Around them cracks deepen the rats crawl"


  Word choice 'crack' has connotations of broken and damaged. Suggests the building is splitting apart. Tells us the setting is run down. Symbolizes the cracks in society.

  Imagery 'rats crawl' is shocking as the building is filled with rats carrying disease.

  Morgan uses social commentary to show the extreme poverty that is present in the buildings. Shocks us as it highlights that people who live in these situations exist.
• “A man lies late since he has lost his job.”


  Alliteration of ‘lies late’ adds an element of laziness, it lacks motivations. Word choice ‘lost’ connotations of directionless, hopelessness, man has no reason to get out of bed.

  Imagery of ‘man lies late’ shows the man lacks motivation to get out of bed. He's depressed, hopeless, trying to hide from the world. Adds a greater sense of depression to the world.

  Wider social issue of joblessness creates poverty.

  Man lost self respect, depressed, can’t get out of bed to improve his situation.
• Glasgow Sonnet


  • Uses a range of literary techniques - word choice, alliteration, personification and imagery
  • Creates a poem with powerful impact
  • Has depressive and cold atmosphere
  • Handles depressive and cold atmosphere really well
  • Deals with blunt themes of urban decay, extreme poverty and social deprivation
  • Displays sympathy and admiration to the people of Glasgow
  • Turns depressive harsh reality of Glasgow into a love story
  • Shows deep admiration for Glasgow
  • Stays respectful
• The poem had a powerful impact as it showed me how Glasgow was during this time, helped me understand what the people of Glasgow experienced
• Conclusion


  Morgan shows extreme poverty, social deprivation and urban decay.

  Reference Question.

  Literary techniques.