The Captain of 1964 Top of the Form Team.

The Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team.

Key:

Phonetics

Other Analysis

'The Captain of 1964 of the Form Team' by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem in which the poetic voice is looking back at their childhood nostalgically. The title itself reflects this, as the 'Captain of 1964 of the Form Team', refers to the poetic voice recalling their childhood in which they were the captain of an academic team. This assumption is reflected throughout the poem, as the entirety of the seconds stanza is dedicated to educational facts that the poetic voice presumably learnt while they were in school. The third stanza of the poem reflects the British culture and society that the poetic voice was presumably brought up on, and the final stanza reflects the nostalgic feelings of the poetic voice.

The first two lines of the first stanza, 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Baby Love, Oh Pretty Woman
were in the Top Ten that month, October, and the Beatles' are lyrics from famous songs from the 60's, which creates the overall setting of the poem. Furthermore, there are a series of plosive phonetics used during these two lines, for example the 'D' and 'B' sounds. These are used in order to emphasize the excitement the poetic voice feels when reminiscing their childhood memories. As the first stanza continues, Duffy uses onomatopoeia in the phrase 'fizzing hope', in order to demonstrate the optimism and excitement felt by the poetic voice while recalling these clearly fond memories of his childhood. Furthermore, Duffy uses a double entendre in the phrase: 'the clever smell of my satchel'. The use of this double entendre reflects both the success and money that the poetic voice has experienced during his younger years, but can also have sexual connotations. Additionally, the first stanza ends by using language which is relevant to the time period, clearly evident within the phrase: 'my lips numb as a two-hour snog'. This type of language was used frequently in the 1960's, which is where the poem is set. This use of language further confirms the setting of the poem, alongside the previous evidence with the use of lyrics from famous songs that were released during the 1960's.


Within the seconds stanza, there are a series of voiced 'W' phonetics throughout, for example within the phrase: 'Blue and White.' Duffy's use of these voiced phonetics represent the joy the poetic voice is experiencing while reminiscing about their childhood. Furthermore, the repetition of adverb 'again' the  phrase: 'In class, the white sleeve of my shirt saluted again and again.' is used in order to represent the knowledge that the poetic voice had when they were younger. This is continued through the use of game show imagery that appears in both the second and third stanza. In the second stanza, this is evident within the phrase: 'Sir?...Correct!'. The use of game show imagery within the poem further confirms to the reader that the poetic voice was extremely intelligent during their youth. The confident nature of the poetic voice is further represented through the phrase: 'dominus domine dominum' which in latin, translates as master. This further portrays to the reader that the poetic voice was extremly confident in his knowledge. Additionally, as the quote translates to 'master' it demonstrates how the poetic voice see's himself as the 'captain' and the most important member of the team, and element which ties in with the purpose of the poem.

In the first line of the third stanza, it becomes clear to the audience that the poetic voice's intelligence was praised by the people around him, clearly seen within the quote: 'My mother kept my mascot Gonk.' Here it is made clear to the audience that his successes and knowledge were praised by his parents, as the connotations of them 'keeping his mascot' are that they are proud of him, and wish to keep items such as his 'mascot' as a reminder. Furthermore, the third stanza includes a lexical field of british culture, with references to the school uniform and famous British films. The lexical field is evident within the phrase: 'The blazer. The badge. The tie. The first chord of A Hard Days Night' with the clear references to traditional school uniform, and 'a hard days night' being a reference to a famous British comdey film which was released in 1964, which would tie in with the setting of the poem which was established within the first stanza. Additonally, Duffy uses spacial nouns in order to further display the British culture that the poetic voice has been referencing throughout the entire stanza. This is clearly evident within the phrase: 'Churchill Way, up Nelson Drive'. As these spacial nouns include the names of extremely famous British people, for example Churchill, who was prime minister during World War 2, and helped Britain succeed in winning the war. Furthermore, the poetic voice's fondness for their country is evident within the last two words of the third stanza; in the phrase: 'My country.' This phrase has an alternative meaning, as thethe poetic voice could either be referencing the fact that they live in the country, making it their country, or that the poetic voice does not feel like that how their country is now is the same way it was when they were younger, therefore seperating the two for the poetic voice.

The game show imagery that was previously in the second stanza also becomes apparent in the final stanza, with the phrase: 'Bzz.' The clear use of onomatopoeia is reminiscent of a game show buzzer, therefore continuing the game show imagery that had previously been seen in the second stanza. Furthermore, Duffy uses juxtaposition in the phrase: 'I smiled as wide as a child who went missing on the way home from school.' As a child would not be smiling if they got lost on the way home from school, it is made clear to the reader that the poetic voice shouldn't have been smiling, as their life was going to change drastically, and would never be the same as it was previously. The poetic voices hatred for their present life is further demonstrated through the phrase: 'I stay to my stale wife'. The use of the verb 'stale' confirms to the reader that the poetic voice does not like what his life has become, and the difference in adjectives they use to describe the past and the present are extremely different, and confirm that the poetic voice disfavours his current life. Additionally, Duffy uses an alternative meaning to demonstrate to the audience that the poetic voice wishes that they could have their old life back. It is evident within the phrase: 'How can we know the dancer from the dance? Nobody. My thick kids wince.' This alternative meaning phrase could either suggest that the poetic voice is sad that their children have not followed in their footsteps, or that they are sad that they cannot go back and relive their youth. Furthermore, the last phrase: 'How many florins in a pound?' suggests to the reader that the poetic voice refuses to let go, and refuses to acknowledge how times have changed.

Overall, the poem 'The Captain of 1964 Top of the Form Team' portrays the poetic voice's nostalgic view on their past through a large variety of literary techniques, all of which paint a picture of the events recalled throughout the poem for the reader.