`The Seduction` by Eileen McCauley

'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
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
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 [email protected]
GCSE English Blended
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
Exploring the Poem
We are now going to explore 'The Seduction' using the five aspects of poetry
we looked at earlier.
Situation
Viewpoint
Ideas or themes
Language and style
Mood or atmosphere
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?
GCSE English Blended
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
What is meant by the idea that the girl has been 'cheated by the promise of it all'?
Who, or what, has cheated her?
The poet hints that teenage pregnancy is not the only depressing thing that can
happen to young people in their late teens.
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.
GCSE English Blended
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
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
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
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.
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.
What effect do you think the writer might have been hoping to achieve by
using this form for her poem?
GCSE English Blended
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
Descriptive Detail
The poem contains a great deal of descriptive detail, much of it harsh and
grim.
Pick out two or three descriptive phrases or sentences that you think are
particularly effective.
Contrasts and Juxtapositions
Make a list of contrasts and juxtapositions you see in the poem.
There are some arresting images in the poem that have an impact on the
atmosphere.
Pick out three or four that you think are particularly effective.
GCSE English Blended
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006
Symbolism
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?
Mood and Atmosphere
How would you describe the mood or
atmosphere of the poem?
GCSE English Blended
Poetry
© The Sheffield College, 2006