The Telephone Call: Poem Factfile
Title: the telephone call
by Fleur Adcock
Date of poem (if known): 1986
Summary
Setting: it is set at the phone call receiver’s house.
Situation and events (what happens in the poem?):
Someone gets a phone call to tell them that they have won the top prize at Universal Lotteries.
The person then gets very emotional and is extremely shocked by this news. At the end of the
poem the caller reveals that they don’t deal in money, just the experience of someone thinking
they have won.
Speaker: speaker is the person who has received the call.
Development (how has the mood of the poem changed between beginning and end? Does the
poem present a form of argument?):
The start of the poem seems exciting and happy; it then becomes more mysterious when it is
revealed that the person didn’t buy a ticket. At the end we feel tricked and manipulated by the
caller when we realise there is no money to be won.
Tone (including any changes):
Tone begins positive then turns manipulative.
Analysis
Two main themes of the poem:
-consumerism
-Hope vs Disappointment
-Illusions vs Experience
Two key images with explanations:
-the constant manipulation and patronisation from the caller to the receiver. The caller laughs at the
receiver when they ask about the company name, as if to call them stupid. The caller’s desperation
to know how the receiver feels seems manipulative and strange. The caller has a large emotional
effect on the speaker and there is a constant discomfort between the two of them.
-the comparison between the very vulnerable, humane speaker and the almost robotic and
computerised caller. The idea that names are fed, ‘into our computer’ makes the caller seem
faceless and anonymous. It takes away the identity of these people.
-the message is that life is disappointing and full of let downs
,Two further techniques used and their effect:
-corporate Jargon is frequently used throughout the passage to emphasise the unsympathetic
nature of the caller. The call is not personal to the receiver. It is clear this language is used for
everyone.
-sinister language is hidden throughout. ‘that’s what they all say’ is sinister as it belittles the
speakers’ feelings and shows the caller has done this before.
The structure and form of the poem (and how this links to the meaning):
-it is a very tight knit, clearly structured poem which echoes the corporate jargon and clinical feeling
of the poem.
-6 stanzas, 8 lines per stanza
-no rhyme scheme
, Ozymandias: Poem Factfile
Title: Ozymandias
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
Date of poem (if known): 1818
Summary
Setting: In a desert, presumably somewhere in the territory that once formed ancient Egypt and
so was part of Ozymandias’s kingdom.
Situation and events (what happens in the poem?):
A traveller finds the sculpture of Ozymandias, who was a past King of Egypt. The sculpture has
worn with time and is not as incredible as it once was.
Speaker: someone who met the traveller. The poem is the retelling of a story.
Development (how has the mood of the poem changed between beginning and end? Does the
poem present a form of argument?):
The poem’s mood changes as we discover the destruction of a once incredible sculpture
(person).
Tone (including any changes):
The tone changes when the words on the pedestal are read. They have a controlling, powerful
tone which is a stark contrast to how the sculpture was previously described.
Analysis
Two main themes of the poem:
-power
-death and decay
-fall of a tyrant
Two key images with explanations:
- “my name is Ozymandias king of kings” is the only line not onomatopoeic which draws attention to
it and emphasises Ozymandias’ megalomania.
- “nothing beside remains”. This shows that Ozymandias’ legacy does not live on, and this echoes his
insignificance nowadays. It is a stark contrast to the writing on the pedestal as they make him sound
very important and unforgettable, which we realise is not the case.
Two further techniques used and their effect:
Title: the telephone call
by Fleur Adcock
Date of poem (if known): 1986
Summary
Setting: it is set at the phone call receiver’s house.
Situation and events (what happens in the poem?):
Someone gets a phone call to tell them that they have won the top prize at Universal Lotteries.
The person then gets very emotional and is extremely shocked by this news. At the end of the
poem the caller reveals that they don’t deal in money, just the experience of someone thinking
they have won.
Speaker: speaker is the person who has received the call.
Development (how has the mood of the poem changed between beginning and end? Does the
poem present a form of argument?):
The start of the poem seems exciting and happy; it then becomes more mysterious when it is
revealed that the person didn’t buy a ticket. At the end we feel tricked and manipulated by the
caller when we realise there is no money to be won.
Tone (including any changes):
Tone begins positive then turns manipulative.
Analysis
Two main themes of the poem:
-consumerism
-Hope vs Disappointment
-Illusions vs Experience
Two key images with explanations:
-the constant manipulation and patronisation from the caller to the receiver. The caller laughs at the
receiver when they ask about the company name, as if to call them stupid. The caller’s desperation
to know how the receiver feels seems manipulative and strange. The caller has a large emotional
effect on the speaker and there is a constant discomfort between the two of them.
-the comparison between the very vulnerable, humane speaker and the almost robotic and
computerised caller. The idea that names are fed, ‘into our computer’ makes the caller seem
faceless and anonymous. It takes away the identity of these people.
-the message is that life is disappointing and full of let downs
,Two further techniques used and their effect:
-corporate Jargon is frequently used throughout the passage to emphasise the unsympathetic
nature of the caller. The call is not personal to the receiver. It is clear this language is used for
everyone.
-sinister language is hidden throughout. ‘that’s what they all say’ is sinister as it belittles the
speakers’ feelings and shows the caller has done this before.
The structure and form of the poem (and how this links to the meaning):
-it is a very tight knit, clearly structured poem which echoes the corporate jargon and clinical feeling
of the poem.
-6 stanzas, 8 lines per stanza
-no rhyme scheme
, Ozymandias: Poem Factfile
Title: Ozymandias
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
Date of poem (if known): 1818
Summary
Setting: In a desert, presumably somewhere in the territory that once formed ancient Egypt and
so was part of Ozymandias’s kingdom.
Situation and events (what happens in the poem?):
A traveller finds the sculpture of Ozymandias, who was a past King of Egypt. The sculpture has
worn with time and is not as incredible as it once was.
Speaker: someone who met the traveller. The poem is the retelling of a story.
Development (how has the mood of the poem changed between beginning and end? Does the
poem present a form of argument?):
The poem’s mood changes as we discover the destruction of a once incredible sculpture
(person).
Tone (including any changes):
The tone changes when the words on the pedestal are read. They have a controlling, powerful
tone which is a stark contrast to how the sculpture was previously described.
Analysis
Two main themes of the poem:
-power
-death and decay
-fall of a tyrant
Two key images with explanations:
- “my name is Ozymandias king of kings” is the only line not onomatopoeic which draws attention to
it and emphasises Ozymandias’ megalomania.
- “nothing beside remains”. This shows that Ozymandias’ legacy does not live on, and this echoes his
insignificance nowadays. It is a stark contrast to the writing on the pedestal as they make him sound
very important and unforgettable, which we realise is not the case.
Two further techniques used and their effect:
