In Mrs Tilscher's Class: Stanza Three

Overview of “In Mrs Tilscher’s Class: Stanza Three”

• “In Mrs Tilscher’s Class” is a beautifully nostalgic poem by Carol Ann Duffy. It’s part of her poetry collection ‘The Other Country’, and it illustrates the transition from childhood innocence to the cusp of adolescence.
• The third stanza is pivotal to the poem as it begins to portray the initial hints of this transition. It’s prevalent specifically through the speaker’s growing awareness of the world outside the safe confines of the classroom.

Emergence of Awareness in “In Mrs Tilscher’s Class: Stanza Three”

• The stanza opens with the mention of “reports” on the overheard adult conversations about the disturbing events of the world. This signifies the first intrusion of the external world into the child’s innocent sphere.
• Duffy uses the unsettling case of the Moors murders, a well-known event at the time, to illustrate the encroachment of external realities to the poem’s otherwise idyllic classroom setting.
• The child’s confusion and fear are effectively portrayed by confusing and scary imagery such as “a tangible alarm”, “the heavy sexy sky” and “rough boy told you how you were born.”
• As the stanza progresses, Duffy introduces the concept of sex as something puzzling and disturbing to the child. This is the very threat that begins to spoil the innocence, symbolising the forthcoming end of childhood.

Analysis of Language and Imagery in “In Mrs Tilscher’s Class: Stanza Three”

• Metaphors and similes are an integral part of this stanza. The “tangible alarm” suggests a palpable sense of danger or fear, underscoring the child’s budding awareness of the world’s complexities.
• Equally striking is the phrase “like a faint uneasy smudge” which vividly portrays the veiled anxiety and budding apprehension caused by the intrusion of adult realities.
• The line: “That feverish July, the air tasted of electricity” employs personification which provides the stanza with an almost tangible tenseness, reflecting the character’s internal changes.
• The juxtaposition of the once comforting space of the classroom with the threatening allusions to the outside world enhances the stanza’s dramatic impact.
• The final sentence alluding to the rough explanation of childbirth shocks the reader and the speaker, indicating a forced, abrupt end to the blissful innocence of childhood.

In conclusion, the third stanza of “In Mrs Tilscher’s Class” is a powerful testament to the transition from the comfortable innocence of early childhood to the coming-of-age phase. It subtly highlights the confusion and fear associated with the unveiling of harsh realities as one grows older, using metaphorical imagery and allusions to historic events.