Poetry analysis of Tony Harrisons Poem V
Poetry Analysis The poem I have chosen to analyse is Tony Harrison’s poem “V”. This poem is different from other poems in the anthology. The poem “V” reflects British society in the 1980s. The poem deals with the problems within British society . ... The poem is constructed with language from the street and academic, this poem is an example of the power of words, it shows how just words alone can shock and offend. At first the poem seems to be an autobiographical monologue in which the poet, Tony Harrison has returned to Leeds, his birth place, whilst there he finds that his parents grave stone has been sprayed with obscenities which have been done my football hooligan. The language in the early stages of the poem represents how well educated the poet has become; we all know this because of the references to the famous poets Lord Byron and William Wordsworth. We know that Tony Harrison had a classical education as he mentions in the poem; “I learned Latin and learned Greek” The further you read the poem “V” you begin to realise the poem is not an account, but a conversation between him (the academic) and a skin head (the hooligan and is uneducated). The skin head is supposed to represent the poets “old self” and the poem shows the conflict between his “old self”, when he was part of the working class community and his “new educated self” which is part of the middle class.