Half-Past Two

The phrase "Once upon a schooltime" immediately evokes a fairy-tale-like opening with the familiar "Once upon a time" structure. However, the substitution of "schooltime" adds a twist, signaling that the poem will focus on childhood, education, or school experiences. What can you call this technique? There is more than one correct answer.

• metaphor

• allusion

• subversion

• similie

Answer explanation

allusion - a brief, indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of art, which the writer assumes the reader will recognize and understand, adding depth and meaning to the text by drawing a connection to that shared knowledge

subversion - the act of deliberately undermining or challenging established norms, values, or power structures by presenting unexpected twists, alternative viewpoints, or unconventional narratives, often with the goal of critiquing societal issues and encouraging critical thinking about the status quo

What kind of tone does alluding to and simultaneously subverting the classic fairy-tale opening create?

• magical and whimsical

• reflective and insightful

• rebellious and angsty

• playful and ironic

By replacing 'once upon a time' with 'once upon a schooltime', the poet subverts the readers' expectations of a whimsical or magical story. What is the purpose of this?

• contrasts imagination and reality

• makes the reader critical of the school system

• implies that the teacher is a witch

• to disappoint the reader, so the reader feels how the child is feeling

Through allusion to and subversion of the typical fairy-tale opening, what does the poet achieve?

• a sense of ridicule

• a contrast between reality and imagination

• a cheese board

• a rich metaphor

What does the contrast between imagination and reality do? There is more than one correct answer.

• highlights how children use whimsy to understand unfamiliar concepts

• encourages the reader to sympathise with the child

• critiques the rigid expectations that adults impose on children

• create a sense of confusion

What is the poet criticising?

• adult's rigid expectations of children

• children's inability to focus

• teachers

• capitalism

‘And She said he’d done / Something Very Wrong’. What literary devices is the poet using here?

• enjambment

• allusion

• capitalisation

• contrast

What is the effect of the capitalization?

• emphasise the seriousness

• shows that the child doesn't know how to write

• suggests how rules are rigid and absolute

• critiques the school system

• mimics how a child perceives authority

Why does the poet use enjambment?

• shows how confusing the school system is

• mirrors a stream of consciousness

• reflects how the teacher berates the child

• reflects the sensory over-stimulation of the child

'Something Very Wrong', is ______

• specific

• vague

• threatening

• whimsical