Half-past two

Question 1

Overview of Half past 2:

Answer 1

A boy in primary school was given detention by his teacher, who leaves him alone in the classroom. He’s told he can leave at half past 2, but he can’t read the time so stays for much longer until the teacher dismisses him. The time is a different and complicated language for him therefore uses his imagination to understand it.

Question 2

Main themes:

Answer 2

childhood innocence and experience, memories, fears, growing up

Question 3

Comparing poems

Answer 3

Hide and seek, piano, poem at 39

Question 4

Form:

Answer 4

written in free verse + tercets which emphasises the child’s imagination

Question 5

‘Once upon a schooltime’

Answer 5

Adverb is an allusion to fairytales/ beginning of the child’s story. The compound word ‘schooltime’ creates a child-like tone and establishes the boys age

Question 6

‘Something Very Wrong’

Answer 6

Capitalisation reinforces the importance and severity the child viewed this event - mostly due to his teacher. The repetition of the phrase evokes his anxiety as he doesn’t understand what he’s done, just that it was wrong - suggests that it hasn’t been explained to him. Fanthorpe may be critiquing how adults assume children understand things exactly how they’ve been told to, when some need further explaining.

Question 7

‘(Being cross…he was too scared at being wicked to remind her)’

Answer 7

Use of parenthesis highlights how the boy is treated as an afterthought. The use of the adjectives ‘scared and wicked’ evoke sympathy for the boy. Use of adjective ‘cross’ shows how emotions shouldn’t drive emotions and therefore Fanthrope may be criticising the teacher’s attitude.

Question 8

‘getinguptime, timeyouwereofftime…all the important times he knew’

Answer 8

The use of the compound words illustrates the child’s view on how he experiences times - as memories/events in his life, as are there ‘important’. These are all enjoyable times and Fanthrope may be suggesting how as we grow up, time gets more structured and therefore life becomes joyless.

Question 9

‘the clockface, the little eyes and two long legs for walking but he couldn’t click its language’

Answer 9

Extended personification of the clock, shows the child’s vivid imagination, which is restricted due to the structure of time adults have put in place. The clock is seen as friendly, but beyond what it looks like, the child doesn’t understand the functions, shown through ‘couldn’t click it’s language’. Once again, Fanthrope blames teachers and society for their failures.

Question 10

‘into the smell…into the silent noise…into the air outside the window…’

Answer 10

Anaphora + use of sensory imagery helps to transport the reader into the imaginative world the child has created. Oxymoron of ‘silent noise’ evokes how in silence + freedom of time, small things have a bigger significance and allows the child to see time from his perspective. The ‘window’ is a symbol of freedom, where he can find joy/peace.

Question 11

‘Scuttling in, I forgot all about you’

Answer 11

Verb ‘scuttling’ villainises the teacher as she’s presented as an insect/rodent/ something unpleasant. Italicised phrase shows how the child was neglected + seen as insignificant to the teacher.

Question 12

‘so she slotted him back into schooltime’

Answer 12

‘Slotted’ dehumanises him into a minor inconvenience in her life, while it had a major impact on his - understand how long he was gone and shows the reader that the teacher sees him as insignificant once again’

Question 13

‘He escaped into the clockless land for ever’

Answer 13

suggests how ignorance is bliss/ he finds joy in not knowing the time.