The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team (Carol Ann Duffy)

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  • The Captain of the 1964 'Top of the Form Team'
    • 'I lived in a kind of fizzing hope.'  This metaphor as well as epistemic modality convey the persona's confidence on his intelligence as a child. Ironic that Duffy uses 'fizzing' the adjective has connotations of deflating, temporary fix.
    • 'The Clever Smell of my Satchel' Again, another example of a metaphor, the adjective, 'clever' has a cacophonous sound but reiterates that persona felt that had a natural 'wit'. Radiated off them. Could have implicates that he took pride in himself.
    • '(...) that I blew like Mick, my lips numb as a two hour snog.' The simile depicts the persona's narcissistic demeanour.
    • 'Gargling. With Vitmo' The material verb, 'gargling' and common noun, 'Vitmo' relate towards the persona's childhood. The noun itself, can be a sweet beverage, a indicator of his past.
    • '(...) my shirt saluted again and again(...)' The personification reflects how the persona was clever and sharp at school. Makes his shirt appear alive and responsive to the persona.
    • 'I knew the capitals, the kings and queens, the dates.' An example of asyndetic listing. Also voices the future persona's vexation with his current situation.
    • 'Try me. Come on.' Imperatives reflect again the persona's pushy nature, the constant spur he has for others is what has made him tiresome and old. Always a constant competition to relive the past.
    • ''In my prize shoes' The possessive pronoun, 'my' reiterates the constant cycle of success he held as a child.
    • ''I want it back.' The boulomaic modality convey the persona's frustration with his present situation, wants to revisit the past.
    • 'The Captain' The definite article, 'the' emphasises the noun, 'Captain' therefore reflecting the persona's attitudes on that great power he once possessed.
    • ''Stale wife' and 'thick kids' the pre-modifying adjectives, 'thick' and 'stale' suggest how the persona is not happy with his current situation. He even goes as far to stress how his family is 'below' him.
    • 'Do wah diddy, Baby, love, oh pretty woman, were in the Top Ten that month, October and the Beatles.' The syndetic listing, including the alliteration of 'Top Ten' surround the semantic field of 1960s in Britain. The persona has aged since then but remains stuck in the past.

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