1. S5

2.  Sometimes the title of a poem can give us a great insight into the subject of the poem. Before we read any further, I want you to look at the title and create a mind map to reflect what words/images/ideas/emotions these words evoke for you.  Now share your ideas with a partner. Be prepared to share your ideas with the rest of the class.

3. The title suggests quite clearly what is to follow, points towards the very specific content of the poem and introduces the word ‘cop’ a colloquialism that will be repeated later. We are not given the name of a particular policeman. It is deliberately impersonal because as a ‘cop’ he has lost his individuality and personality. He is a symbol of authority either to be accepted or defied. It is a stark non-poetic title and the use of the word ‘cop’ highlights the disrespect he faces on a day to day basis. The word cop can also be seen as a pun. It can be interpreted in the sense of ‘to be caught’. Is it the policeman trapped in his role or the criminal trapped in his or both? This makes us look to society for an answer which is a recurring theme in both poems. The imperfections of society lead to the misery and hopelessness that permeate these poems.

4. Re-read the poem and write down any words that you are unsure of. Take a few minutes to look up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary and write the definitions in your jotter. I will quiz you...

5. Read the poem carefully and construct some notes for yourself under the headings  WHO  WHAT  WHERE  WHEN  WHY to help you identify the situation or story of the poem.

6.  Once you have done this, you will be asked to use your notes to draw a graphic representative of the poem (a poster) OR a storyboard to represent the main ideas in the poem. You should include as much detail as you can, including quotations from the poem.

7. 1. What time of day is the poem being written? b)What words reveal this? 2. Where is the poem set? 3. Write down three phrases that describes the cop. b)What does this tell us about him? 4. What is the ‘thin tissue’? 5. Why does he ‘hope’ to see his wife again? 6. To what does the poet compare the cop in lines 1 and 8? b) In what two ways are they alike? 7. What is the poet describing in the last line of the verse?

8. 1. Where is the cop in verse two? b) How do we know this? 2. What does the poet mean by ‘should the tissue tear’? 3. Name two sources of the violence that the poet encounters outside. 4. What are ‘Phoebe’s Whamburger’ and Louie’s Place’ symbolic of? 5. Explain the contrast between verses one and two.

9. 1. What does the poet mean by ‘who would be him? 2. How does the fact that he is a ‘gorilla’ who carries a ‘nightstick’ add to our perception of the cop? 3. Why does the poet use these words? 4. Who does the poet refer to as ‘the victims’? 5. Do you think this is a positive or negative conclusion to the poem? Why? 6. What do you think is the overall message of the poem?

10.  Brooklyn Cop by Norman MacCaig is a short eighteen line poem in four unrhymed stanzas of varying length in which the poet describes and reflects upon the appearance duties and lifestyle of a Brooklyn policeman. It seems that MacCaig is writing from an actual experience here, probably the same visit to New York which inspired the poem ‘Hotel Room 12 th Floor’. These poems both indicate the poet’s negative feelings about the urban noise, violence and rush of NY. In Brooklyn Cop, it is the danger of violence and death with which the cop is perpetually faced and his relationship with the criminals he deals with that interests MacCaig.

11. Now that we understand WHAT is happening in the poem and WHAT MacCaig’s message is, we now must think about HOW he chooses to express this message. MacCaig uses many techniques to express his opinions. An understanding of these techniques and their effects are CRUCIAL to success in the higher course.  On the following slide you will see a number of poetic techniques and their definitions.  Can you match them up?

12. Brooklyn Cop Onomatopoeia Metaphor ImageryRepetitionConnotationSimile AllusiondenotationHyperbole PersonificationPoint-of-viewAlliteration Synecdoche Euphemism The repetition of initial consonant sounds. A comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer meaning to one of them. The use of words which imitate sound. Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses to create a mental picture. The repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. The meaning suggested by a particular word The dictionary definition or literal meaning of a word A comparison between two objects using a specific word or comparison such as "like", "as", or "than". A reference to another time, work, person, etc. An exaggeration of any sort, added for effect. An understatement, used to lessen the effect of a statement. A description of a non-human or its actions that seem to give it human characteristics. the vantage point of the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem. In which a part is used to represent a whole

13. Brooklyn Cop 5Onomatopoeia 12Metaph or 6Imagery7Repetition9Connotation8Simile 11Allusion10denotation13Hyperbole 2Personification3Point-of-view4Alliteration 1Synecdoche 14Euphemism 4The repetition of initial consonant sounds. 12A comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer meaning to one of them. 5The use of words which imitate sound. 6Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses to create a mental picture. 7The repeating of Words or phrases, 9The meaning suggested by a particular word 10The dictionary definition or literal meaning of a word 8A comparison between two objects using "like", "as", or "than". 11A reference to another time, work, person, etc. 13An exaggeration of any sort, added for effect. 14An understatement, used to lessen the effect of a statement. 2A description of a non-human or its actions that seem to give it human characteristics. 3the vantage point of the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem. 1In which a part is used to represent a whole

14.  Stanza One 1 Look at lines 1 – 4. Do you think that this is a stereotypical image of a policeman? Choose two quotes, and explain why they make you feel this way. (3) 2 Quote the line that shows that the divide between civilization and violence is only ever paper-thin. (1) 3 What technique is this? (1) 4 Consider what you learn about the cop at home. Quote a line that shows the difference between his personality at work, and that at home. Explain your answer fully, including how you feel about the character. (3) 5 The poet changes from saying the cop is “like a gorilla” to being “a gorilla”. Explain fully how the techniques have changed, and why you think the poet does this. (2)  Stanza Two 6 Think about the place names in the poem – what kind of area is he policing? (2) 7 Explain how the word “plunge” is effective. Include comment on connotation and denotation of the word as well as the structure. (3) 8 How does stanza two remind us of the themes of the poem? (1)

15.  Stanza Three 1 What do you notice about the structure of this stanza? (1) 2 Explain the significance of “gorilla with a nightstick” (2) 3 Show how the poet tries to get us to sympathise with the cop (4)  Stanza Four 4 Who is the poet referring to as “victims”, and why do you think they are referred to as such? (2)  Overall 5 Why do you think the Brooklyn Cop remains anonymous? (1) 6 How successful do you think this poem is in conveying a complex picture of the cop? (4)

16. The first verse is concerned with the man himself. We are given an insight into his physique, general appearance and there is a stark contrast between his outward appearance of brutality and his inner vulnerability and emotions.

17. How is the ‘cop’ gradually revealed to the reader?

18. QuotationTechniqueHow does this quotation reveal the ‘cop’? “built like a gorilla” simile The opening simile immediately appeals to the sense of sight and we think of him as thick set and muscular, ugly and solid. The gorilla is a fierce animal but by comparison it is ‘timid’. This simile is used to evoke an image of ferocity and brute strength. Steak colouredConnotation/ imagery The thick fleshed/steak coloured nature of his appearance is quite visceral and again suggests violence, blood and savagery. Steak is the by product of animals dominated by man and destroyed for his own survival. This harks back to the idea of survival of the fittest and is suggestive of the death and violence that the cop has witnessed and survived. Brooklyn cop

19. Verse two takes a closer look at the day to day life of the policeman, the risks he takes and the dangers he faces in his job. The verse is full of the threat of violence and highlights the fragile line that exists between the law and the criminals.

20. How does MacCaig communicate the violence surrounding the cop?

21. QuotationTechniqueHow does this quotation reveal MacCaig’s attitude? Brooklyn cop

22. QuotationTechniqueHow does this quotation reveal MacCaig’s attitude? ‘should…’repetition tells us what kind of thing might happen if the tissue over violence breaks, if the cop has to become involved in fighting crime. To show the continuing uncertainty, MacCaig opens the verse with inversion – using an incomplete question to demonstrate his point. The possibility that this could happen is emphasised by the repetition of ‘should’ in the first line of the verse. plungeconnotation The theme of the delicate balance between civilisation and savagery is repeated and emphasised with the use of the word ‘plunge’ to indicate just how precarious and dangerous his position is, suggesting speed and destruction of the move from safety and peace to danger and violence. It has connotations of drowning and carries with it a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness against an unstoppable force. Brooklyn cop

23. MacCaig moves from description to reflection in the final two verses where he asks society to consider the reality of the cop’s position by putting ourselves in, not only his shoes, but the criminals.

24. How does MacCaig force us to reflect on the cop’s position?

25. QuotationTechniqueHow does this quotation reveal MacCaig’s attitude? Brooklyn cop

26. QuotationTechniqueHow does this quotation reveal MacCaig’s attitude? ‘who would be him…’ Rhetorical question We are left with a question to ponder ‘who would be him...’ This is a deliberate move to evoke further sympathy for the cop as we are forced to imagine ourselves in his situation. ‘gorilla with a nightstick’ metaphor MacCaig brings to mind the image of an animal on the rampage in the night time jungle but there is also the feeling that he may need the stick for self defence. ‘whose home is a place, he might, this time’ inversion Again, we are reminded of the uncertainty of getting home with the words ‘this time’ to underline the immediacy and reality of the threat. Each shift is an unknown quantity where anything might happen. Brooklyn cop

27. In ‘Brooklyn Cop’ MacCaig highlights one of the problems in society – violence – and leaves us with the uncomfortable feeling that we are all involved. We cannot stand back and think it has nothing to do with us. Society has created these victims – the cop who has to put his happiness and life on the line to try to curb the effects of a corrupt society and the criminal who has been condemned to a life of violence and crime because society has failed them. MacCaig sees only too well the problems in society and the root of these problems but he leaves the solution in the reader’s hands, making for an altogether poignant and thought provoking work of literature that goes far beyond our initial assumptions of ‘cops and robbers’.

28. Like many of MacCaig’s poems, Brooklyn cop’ can be studied in isolation but it does have much in common with ‘Hotel Room 12 th Floor’ and it pays to be aware of these similarities and be able to comment on them. 1 Both are set in America or specifically NY 2 They arise out of something the poet witnessed firsthand and MacCaig is detached observer 3 They both demonstrate the thin division between peace and violence 4 The use night time settings to symbolise danger and vulnerability 5 They show mans struggle to control humanity’s inherent savagery 6 They both depict the violence in society and blame society itself for these failings

29. There are several obvious links between these two poems; they share the same location and theme. They both recognise that the violence of the big city, especially at night, seems to brutalise its inhabitants. Even with its technological sophistication, humanity cannot overcome the darkness that lies within itself. The irony of this is heightened by the fact that America is a relatively young country and the settlers who travelled there saw themselves as bringing civilisation to the wilderness and taming the savagery of the original inhabitants. The result of this seems to ‘blood glazed on sidewalks’ and the ‘gorilla with a nightstick’ who patrols the streets attempting to keep the peace. The Brooklyn Cop seems to be as savage as any Indian but walks around inside the stockade. A grim and rather pessimistic picture of modern America emerges from these two poems. The first presents an overview from the first floor, almost a philosophical discussion of the problem of violence in society, while the second looks at that problem in close up by focusing on one individual.

30. “Choose a poem where the poet expresses criticism about a particular aspect of society. State briefly what this is and go on to show how the poet effectively communicates his ideas to you”