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READ THIS
The poet is at the end of his tether. He is a teacher who has lost his zest for teaching.
Indeed, he can no longer see the point of attempting to drag his pack of unruly children into an
appreciation of anything.
He makes the decision to give up and save his strength for himself. He will simply pass the time waiting
for the bell to ring.
ABOUT THE POET
David Herbert Lawrence was born in Nottinghamshire in September 1885, the fourth child of an
uneducated coal miner.
This working class background, together with constant friction with his illiterate and drunken father,
provided him much material for his later poetry, novels and short stories.
He initially went to Beauvale Board School but then won a scholarship to attend Nottingham High School.
His first employment was as a junior clerk at a surgical appliances factory until forced to resign because
of T.B. It was during his period of convalescence that he gained his extreme love for reading, writing and
poetry.
From 1902 to 1906, he served as a student teacher in his hometown of Eastwood, whereupon he studied
and acquired a teaching certificate from University College, Nottingham.
It was during those years that he wrote his first poems, some short stories, and a novel which was
published as The White Peacock.
The young Lawrence hated teaching -- a theme made clear in his poem "Last Lesson of the
Afternoon" -- but luckily his writing ability caught the eye of major publishers and enabled him to
follow a professional career as a writer and an artist.
He achieved a massive reputation as a novelist and a poet. His most famous books were Sons and
Lovers and Lady Chatterly's Lover.
During the 1st World War, Lawrence was accused of spying for the Germans and was constantly
harassed by the British authorities. As soon as the war ended, therefore, he left England to live in Italy
-- where he wrote his now famous poem "Snake".
He died of T.B. in March 1930 while at a sanatorium in France. He was just 45 years of age.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart,
My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start
Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt,
I can haul them and urge them no more.
- Comment on the pertinence of the sustained metaphor of the "unruly hounds". In doing so,
point to Lawrence's selection of words to underline this metaphor. (6)
[Need help?]
Note that Lawrence does not use the metaphor "unruly dogs" but rather "unruly hounds".
The hound is a hunting dog, which takes great delight in pursuing its prey.
As metaphorical hounds, the learners should be taking delight in pursuing knowledge. The fact that they
don't but rather choose to do anything other than pursuing knowledge makes them unruly hounds.
Instead of the hounds pulling their controller, the teacher must rather pull them.
Note the choice of words: "tugged the leash"; "strained apart"; "I cannot start | Them
again"; " they hate to hunt"; "haul them".
All these words describe hounds which have lost their zest for hunting, which have to be pulled and
coaxed but no longer hunt from a natural desire.
The reality is of course that such hunting dogs would be shot because they would be a liability and of no
further value!
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- Why do you think Lawrence was so despairing of his learners? (4)
[Need help?]
In the early days of his career, Lawrence certainly did enjoy teaching. Read "The Best of School"
and you'll find Lawrence in precisely that mood.
"Last Lesson of the Afternoon", however, was written towards the end of the poet's teaching career
when the frustration of the work had gotten to him.
He was angry with the British educational system which instructed that he treat all learners like little roses
to be cultivated, whereas most of them were in fact not roses at all but stinging nettles.
Treat a nettle like a rose, the poet once said, and you'll have nothing to show for it but stung fingers!
The poet was also teaching at a school which was not in any way academic. It made no difference what
he taught them. They would not -- could not -- be appreciative but would simply end up going out into
working class jobs where his teaching mattered nothing.
It was shortly thereafter that he chose to give up teaching in favour of writing and art.
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- Comment on Lawrence's use of the words "haul them" and "urge
them". (4)
[Need help?]
In terms of the image of the hunting hounds, it would not be appropriate to "haul" and "urge"
the dogs.
On the contrary, the dogs would have a natural desire to hunt, something which Lawrence believed that
learners should have.
Hauling and urging the learners would therefore be anathema to Lawrence's philosophy.
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No longer now can I endure the brunt
Of the books that lie out on the desks; a full threescore
Of several insults of blotted pages, and scrawl
Of slovenly work they have offered me.
- What is the effect of the alliteration in "endure the brunt of the books" and "scrawl of slovenly
work"? How does it enhance the expression of the mood in which the poet finds
himself? (6)
[Need help?]
There is a harshness about the alliterated "b's". The words "brunt of the books" therefore
represents something to be despised, something that cannot be admired, something which would rankle
the Laurentian philosophy.
On the other hand, the sibilance -- the "s" sound -- in "scrawl of slovenly work" forces one
to speak the words slowly, to pronounce them meticulously and with sarcasm, almost hatred.
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So, shall I take
My last dear fuel of life to heap on my soul
And kindle my will to a flame that shall consume
Their dross of indifference; and take the toll
Of their insults in punishment? -- I will not!
- Comment on the implication of Lawrence's question. (4)
[Need help?]
The word "dear" has a double meaning:
- it could mean "expensive", as in "the price of petrol is dear";
- it could also mean "precious", as in "she was very dear to me".
For Lawrence, therefore, the "last fuel of life" was both expensive and precious, so why would one
want to waste it on recalcitrant learners who did not appreciate what they were being offered?
The word "soul" is also important here.
The soul is the life principle. If one therefore takes the "last dear fuel of life" and heaps it on the
soul, it is possible that the principle of life itself will wither and die?
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- Is it possible to kindle a flame that would "consume their dross of
indifference"? (4)
[Need help?]
This is very much an open question for you to debate. You could answer either way: that good teaching
could indeed change the attitude of the learners, or that it would make no difference whatever.
What do you think?
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- When the poet asks whether he should take "the toll of their insults in punishment", he appears
to be using the word "toll" in two or three different ways. Explain each these
usages. (4)
[Need help?]
The word "toll" has been defined in the following ways:
- it is "a charge payable for permission to pass a barrier" -- like a toll road;
- it is "the cost or damage caused by a disaster, battle, etc" -- like the death toll in a
battle;
- it is the "sound of a bell with a slow uniform succession of strokes" -- the tolling of the
bell.
The "toll" of their punishments could therefore be the "cost", and the "charge" that the
poet has to pay.
Does he in any way also mean "the tolling of the bell", ringing the death knell to his teaching
career?
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I will not waste my soul and my strength for this.
- Lawrence uses the word "soul" twice, once here and once in Stanza 3. What is the implication
of his doing so? (4)
[Need help?]
The soul is the life principle. If one therefore takes the "last dear fuel of life" and heaps it on the
soul, is it not possible that the principle of life itself will wither and die?
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I do not, and will not; they won't and they don't; and that's all!
- Comment on the emphasis placed on the words as a means by which the poet stresses his
point. (4)
[Need help?]
There is a most defining rhythm to this line, is there not? The poet states his contention with a beat of
determination, almost a war drum that beats his resolution -- or the beating of his fists upon the desktop
to indicate his anger and his determination.
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I shall sit and wait for the bell
- Comment on these final words as a wonderful example of climax. (4)
[Need help?]
Climax is an ordering of words or events from smallest to greatest:
- "I came, I saw, I conquered."
- "There are several things of importance in my life: my car, my house, my children, my
wife."
In this poem, Lawrence mounts his reasoning about his unhappiness at teaching the children. Stanza after
stanza builds on this argument.
His masterpiece lies in his final line which is the climax: "I shall sit and wait for the bell."
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