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READ THIS
The poet takes a sarcastic look at the men who play rugby league, overgrown males who are attempting
to make heroes of themselves by behaving like little boys once again.
A NOTE ON THE POET
James Falconer Kirkup was born in April 1918 in South Shields, County Durham, the only son of a
carpenter. He was educated at South Shields Secondary School before attending Durham University
where he graduated with a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages in 1941.
He lived his entire life as a flamboyant and provocative figure but nevertheless remained a lonely person
-- which was understandable because he was a self-professed gay at a time when homosexuality was
severely frowned upon.
During World War II he declared himself to be a conscientious objector. Instead of fighting, he worked
on the land as an agricultural labourer in the Yorkshire Dales.
He later taught at The Downs School in Colwall, Malvern, where he wrote his first book of poetry, The
Drowned Sailor at the Downs which was published in 1947.
Kirkup was a prolific English poet and writer, producing over 30 books which included autobiographies,
novels and plays. He was the first resident university poet in the United Kingdom and would become a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1962.
He nevertheless left England in 1956 to live and work in Europe, the Americas and the Far East, before
finally settling in Japan where he found both acceptance and appreciation for his work. He lived there for
more than 30 years, lecturing in English Literature at several universities.
Kirkup leapt to public attention in 1977, when a gay newspaper -- Gay News -- published his
poem "The Love that Dares to Speak its Name".
The poem described the homosexual fantasies of a Roman centurion as he contemplated the body of
Jesus Christ which was in his care after it had been removed from the cross.
Not only does the poem describe in lurid detail the actions of the centurion but it also attributes
homosexual acts to Jesus himself with a host of New Testament characters, including Pontius Pilate, John
the Baptist, Paul of Tarsus and Judas.
The newspaper was prosecuted in a private case by Mary Whitehouse -- a "decency defender"
-- for what she called "blasphemous libel".
Whitehouse won her case in a trial which appears to have been severely biassed against the newspaper
-- several key witnesses were refused permission to testify. The poem is still banned in the United
Kingdom.
Kirkup died in May 2009. He was then 91 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:
"Sport is absurd, and sad.
Those grown men. Just look,
In those dreary long blue shorts,
Those ringed stockings, Edwardian,
Balding pates, and huge
Fat knees that ought to be heroes."
- What is it that is "sad"? (2)
[Need help?]
It is sad, says the poet, to see grown up men playing games that were designed for children. Not only sad,
but very, very stupid (absurd).
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- It is clear that the poet is describing a rugby game out of an old fashion past. How do we
know? (2)
[Need help?]
The poet speaks about the "dreary long blue shorts" and the "Edwardian" stockings.
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- Why does the poet speak specifically of the "stockings" as being
"Edwardian"? (4)
[Need help?]
The most obvious reason would be to convey the sense of "old fashioned".
On the other hand, "Edwardian" refers to a specific form of architecture. There was
"Victorian" architecture which was common during the reign of Queen Victoria, and there was
"Edwardian" architecture common during the reign of Victoria's son, King Edward.
None of the monarchs after King Edward have had styles of architecture named after them. Is the poet
therefore simply using an architectural image/style to enhance his poem?
On the other hand, was rugby invented during the Edwardian age? Why not google this and find out?
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- Why does the poet refer to the "balding pates" of the rugby players? (4)
[Need help?]
"Balding pates" refers specifically to men who have balding heads. Although many men go bald
quite early -- sometimes in their early 20s -- the word nevertheless conjures up the idea of middle aged
men.
The poet is therefore able to use the word in a pejorative sense as meaning middle aged men who are
pretending to be little boys all over again.
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- What is the purpose of the apostrophe in "heroes' "? (2)
[Need help?]
The apostrophe is to denote possessive case: "the knees of the heroes".
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- What is the TONE of the line: "huge fat knees that ought to be heroes' "? Explain the
tone. (3)
[Need help?]
There is a tone of disgust or ridicule. The poet is disgusted that men, who ought to be heroes in another
sphere, are wasting their time playing children's games.
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"Is all this courage really necessary?"
- What is a rhetorical question? Why is it used? (3)
[Need help?]
A rhetorical question is one which demands a certain answer. In this case, it's the answer, "No!"
Rhetorical questions are essentially a means to control society's thoughts. Because there is only one
answer, the audience is forced to answer in this way and thereby the people fall into line with the way in
which the speaker is thinking.
Try giving the unexpected answer to a rhetorical question and see where this leads. For example, "Do
you want to fail at the end of this year?" Try giving the answer, "Well, yes. Why not!"
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"They run each other down
With earnest keenness, for the honour of
Virility, the cap, the county side."
- What is BATHOS? Can you find an example of bathos in these lines? (4)
[Need help?]
BATHOS is an anti-climax, the placing of words in descending order, from the most important down to the
least important. It usually has a humourous effect.
"the honour of virility, the cap, the county side" is an example of bathos.
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- The poet, by using BATHOS, manages to pinpoint what it is that makes grown men want to play rugby.
What is it? (4)
[Need help?]
"The honour of virility". The men want to appear "virile". They think that, by chasing
a pig's bladder around the rugby field, they will appear to be more manly than they are to the people
watching.
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- Why does the poet end this line with the word "county side"? (2)
[Need help?]
If the poet had ended the sentence with the word "country", he would have created a climax. One
can understand playing rugby for one's country. It's a worthwhile thing to do.
By using "county side", however, the poet creates bathos because "county side" would
appear to be relatively unimportant.
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