Moving through the silent crowd
Biographical information: Stephen Spender
- Modernist poet
○ Concrete images are presented for the readers to interpret
○ Critic renowned for expressing himself critically and passionately
○ Built a reputation for humanism and honesty
- Educated in London
- During WW1 he was part of the National Fire Service
○ After the war he taught/lectured at various US universities
- Appointed Professor of English and Knighted in 1983
Meaning and Message
- SP (Spender) concentrated mainly on social injustice and poverty
○ Exposes the issue of jobless/unproductive member of society who are homeless
and sad
Structure
- Free verse
- No set rhyme scheme (except stanza 3)
- Regular structure
○ Stanza of 4 lines
○ Indicates the predictability and regularity of the jobless's routine
Tone:
- Metaphor
- Sombre
- Reflective
- Pensive
Title
- "Moving": speaker observing his surroundings
- "silent": voiceless people
○ People who hold limited power in society
- "crowd": large number of people
○ Connotations of being unruly and disorganized
, Stanza 1
- Speaker shares his experience of moving through the streets and we see the abundant
wasted potential
- Sad and bleak image of the jobless
Lines 1:
- Establishes the setting of the poem
- "silent crowd": the speaker is aware of the silence and the lower positions held in society
○ Reference to the lower class of society
Lines 2:
- "dull cigarettes": lacking interest or excitement (life)
- "stand behind": they are hiding
- They have nothing better to do in life
- The tone is somber and dreary
Lines 3:
- "idle": inactive/wasting time/lazy/time spent doing nothing
○ Unable to move forward
Lines 4:
- "falling light": dark/empty
○ Senses their darkness and emptiness
○ Can see their potential dwindling
- "I": giving a personal point of view
○ He feels darkness and emptiness
○ People he is looking at are seen as hopeless and pessimistic
Biographical information: Stephen Spender
- Modernist poet
○ Concrete images are presented for the readers to interpret
○ Critic renowned for expressing himself critically and passionately
○ Built a reputation for humanism and honesty
- Educated in London
- During WW1 he was part of the National Fire Service
○ After the war he taught/lectured at various US universities
- Appointed Professor of English and Knighted in 1983
Meaning and Message
- SP (Spender) concentrated mainly on social injustice and poverty
○ Exposes the issue of jobless/unproductive member of society who are homeless
and sad
Structure
- Free verse
- No set rhyme scheme (except stanza 3)
- Regular structure
○ Stanza of 4 lines
○ Indicates the predictability and regularity of the jobless's routine
Tone:
- Metaphor
- Sombre
- Reflective
- Pensive
Title
- "Moving": speaker observing his surroundings
- "silent": voiceless people
○ People who hold limited power in society
- "crowd": large number of people
○ Connotations of being unruly and disorganized
, Stanza 1
- Speaker shares his experience of moving through the streets and we see the abundant
wasted potential
- Sad and bleak image of the jobless
Lines 1:
- Establishes the setting of the poem
- "silent crowd": the speaker is aware of the silence and the lower positions held in society
○ Reference to the lower class of society
Lines 2:
- "dull cigarettes": lacking interest or excitement (life)
- "stand behind": they are hiding
- They have nothing better to do in life
- The tone is somber and dreary
Lines 3:
- "idle": inactive/wasting time/lazy/time spent doing nothing
○ Unable to move forward
Lines 4:
- "falling light": dark/empty
○ Senses their darkness and emptiness
○ Can see their potential dwindling
- "I": giving a personal point of view
○ He feels darkness and emptiness
○ People he is looking at are seen as hopeless and pessimistic
