Unto us''' Spike Milligan

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Unto us... Spike Milligan
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UNTO US.......

• ..For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
  given and the government shall be upon his
  shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful,
  Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
  Father, The Prince of Peace. ..( Isaiah, 9, 6)

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• Somewhere at some timeThey committed
  themselves to meAnd so, I was!Small, but I
  WAS!Tiny, in shapeLusting to liveI hung in my
  pulsing cave.Soon they knew of meMy mother --my
  father.I had no say in my beingI lived on
  trustAnd loveTho' I couldn't thinkEach part of
  me was sayingA silent 'Wait for meI will bring
  you love!
• I was taken

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• Blind, naked, defencelessBy the hand of
  oneWhose good nameWas graven on a brass
  platein Wimpole Street,and dropped on the
  sterile floorof a foot operated plastic waste
  bucket.There was no Queens Counsel To take my
  brief.The cot I might have warmedStood in
  Harrod's shop window.When my passing was toldMy
  father smiled.No grief filled my empty space.My
  death was celebratedWith tickets to see Danny la
  RueWho was pretending to be a womanLike my
  mother was.

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(No Transcript)
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Poetry should make us think!

• Choose a poem which has made you think about a
  topic you have never thought about in detail
  before.
• Briefly say what the poem is about, and in
  greater detail, say what aspects of the topic you
  have thought about.

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Purpose (Themes)

• Abortion is wrong.
• Abortion can destroy a human who might grown up
  to do great good in the world.

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Organisation (Structure)

• 35 line monologue
• 1-16 Joyful and wanting to be born
• 17 Turning Point I was taken
• 18-35 Bitter and angry at being killed

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Emotive tone

• Happy then angry/sad

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Techniques

• repetition, metaphor, irony and contrast

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Individual words

• Unto us.... Baby Jesus
• I was. I WAS. it existed for a time
• No Queens Counsel etc

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Contrast

• Contrast is when we compare two opposite things.
  What is the contrast between the image of the
  foetus in his "pulsing cave" and his last moment
  in a "foot-operated plastic waste bucket".
  Consider the coldness and openness of the bucket.
• Or the contrast in the foetus's feelings or
  thoughts between 1-16 and 18-35

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Roles of different people involved
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Voice of Child

• Foetus has a persona The effect?
• And so I was Joy in existence
• Small, but I was A person from the moment of
  conception
• Lusting to live Positive desire to live
• Blind, naked, defenceless Innocent and
  vulnerable
• I will bring you love Desire to bring love

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Role of Parents

• Careless conception
• Parents responsible for childs existence
• Child dependent on parents wanting him/her
• smiled Father glad that (s)he is dead
• no grief.. Mother the same
• Death celebrated Not mourned
• Mother denies natural instincts Masquerading as a
  woman
• Parents rich and can afford baby

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Role of Doctor

• good name Valuable service
• graven on a brass plate High reward
• dropped on the sterile floor Cold indifference
  of surgeon
• plastic waste bucket Human life disposed of as
  rubbish
• no Queens Counsel
• To take my brief No legal rights. Not seen by
  the law as a person

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Role of Poet

• Milligan deliberately sets out to change our
  opinions. He wants us to see abortion the way he
  does.
• How does he influence us?
• Is he successful?