GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

'The Seduction' by Eileen McCauley

After the party, early Sunday morning, He led her to the quiet bricks of Birkenhead docks. Far past the silver stream of traffic through the city, Far from the blind windows of the tower blocks. He sat down in the darkness, leather jacket creaking madly, He spat into the river, fumbled in a bag. He handed her the vodka, and she knocked it back like water, She giggled, drunk and nervous, and he muttered ‘little slag’. She had met him at the party, and he’d danced with her all night. He’d told her about the football; Sammy Lee and Ian Rush. She had nodded, quite enchanted, and her eyes were wide and bright As he enthused about the Milk Cup, and the next McCGuigan fight. As he brought her more drinks, so she fell in love With his eyes as blue as iodine. With his fingers that stroked her neck and thighs And the kisses that tasted of nicotine. Then I’ll take you to the river where I spend the afternoons When I should be at school or eating me dinner. Where I go, by meself, with me dad’s magazines And a bag filled with shimmering, sweet paint thinner. So she followed him there, all high white shoes All wide blue eyes, and bottles of vodka And sat in the dark, her head rolling forward Towards the frightening scum on the water. And talked about school in a disjointed way; About O levels she’d be sitting in June She chattered on, and stared at the water, The Mersey, green as a septic wound. Then when he swiftly contrived to kiss her His kiss was scented by Listerine And she stifled a giggle, reminded by numerous Stories from teenage magazines….

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

When she discovered she was three months gone She sobbed in the cool, licked darkness of her room And she ripped up all her My Guy and her Jackie photo-comics Until they were just bright paper, like confetti, strewn On the carpet. And on that day she broke the heels Of her high white shoes( as she flung them at the wall) And realised, for once, that she was truly frightened But more than that, cheated, by the promise of it all. For where, now, was the summer of her sixteenth year? Full of glitzy fashion features, and stories of romance? Where strangers could lead you to bright new worlds? And how would you know, if you never took a chance? Full of glossy horoscopes, and glamour with a stammer; Full of fresh fruit diets - how did she feel betrayed? Now with a softly rounded belly, she was sickened every morning By stupid, stupid promises only tacitly made. Where were the glossy photographs of summer, Day trips to Blackpool, jumping all the rides? And where, now, were the pink smiling faces in the picture; Three girls paddling in the grey and frothy tide? So she cried that she had missed all the innocence around her And all the parties where you meet the boy next door Where you walked hand in hand, in an acne’d wonderland With a glass of lager-shandy, on a carpeted floor. Better to be smoking scented drugs Or festering, invisibly, unemployed Better to destroy your life in modern, man-made ways Than to fall into this despicable feminine void. Better to starve yourself, like a sick, precocious child Than to walk through town with a belly huge and ripe. And better to turn away, move away, fade away, Than to have the neighbours whisper that you ‘always looked the type’.

Despite every reasonable effort, it has not been possible to ascertain copyright ownership for this poem. The Sheffield College would welcome the copyright holder, or other knowledgeable parties, to contact us. Please email sharon.fox@sheffcol.ac.uk

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

Exploring the Poem We are now going to explore 'The Seduction' using the five aspects of poetry we looked at earlier.

After reading 'The Seduction' a couple of times, use the following questions to help you explore your ideas about the poem. Situation

There are a number of references to magazines in the poem. How have magazines influenced both the girl and the boy?

Viewpoint

Ideas or themes

Situation

Language and style

Mood or atmosphere

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

How do you interpret the lines:

Better to destroy your life in modern, man-made ways Than to fall into this despicable feminine void.

Better to starve yourself, like a sick, precocious child Than to walk through town with a belly huge and ripe.

The poet hints that teenage pregnancy is not the only depressing thing that can happen to young people in their late teens.

What is meant by the idea that the girl has been 'cheated by the promise of it all'? Who, or what, has cheated her?

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

Viewpoint From whose point of view is the poem being told? Do you think this is a story about a particular young woman the poet knows? Themes

What themes do you see in the poem?

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

Language and Style As you work through this section, you might want to refer back to earlier suggestions about 'How to Explore a Poem' and to the Glossary, to remind yourself of some of the techniques discussed.

What effect do you think the writer might have been hoping to achieve by using this form for her poem?

The Narrative Poem This is a narrative poem which means that it tells a story. The story it tells is an old one, one of seduction, pregnancy and despair. The structure, with the regular rhyme and rhythmic pattern, is reminiscent of older pre-twentieth century poetry and not unlike a ballad which is a poem that tells a story. Sometimes ballads are sung and they often describe situations where people end up in trouble. Ballads are one of the oldest forms of story telling.

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

Pick out two or three descriptive phrases or sentences that you think are particularly effective.

Make a list of contrasts and juxtapositions you see in the poem.

Pick out three or four that you think are particularly effective.

Descriptive Detail

Contrasts and Juxtapositions

There are some arresting images in the poem that have an impact on the atmosphere.

The poem contains a great deal of descriptive detail, much of it harsh and grim.

GCSE English Blended © The Sheffield College, 2006 Poetry

Assonance has been used to draw attention to what seems to be an important symbol in the poem, the 'high white shoes'. What do you think they symbolise?

How would you describe the mood or atmosphere of the poem?

Symbolism

Mood and Atmosphere