1. On a Portrait of a Deaf Man
By John Betjeman

2. Video

3. About the Poem Betjeman wrote the poem about his father, who had died.
The poet was clearly close to his father, and got on with him very well, as he fondly remembers the memories that they shared; ‘He smiled and looked so wise’.
Whilst the poem talks about the memories happily, there are also darker lines in the poem where the poet discusses the parts of death that are not usually spoken about; ‘In Highgate now his finger-bones Stick through his finger-ends.’
The poem ends with the poet showing anger towards God.
This poem is an elegy, which means that it is a mournful or melancholy poem about death.

4. Imagery
There is a lot of imagery in this poem, which show two extreme, opposite moods of positivity and death.
The poet describes the happy events and memories of/with the man, and then ends on a more brutal and blunt tone – describing the reality of death.
He liked old city dining rooms, Potatoes in their skin, But now his mouth is wide to let The London clay come in.
This shows the poets anger about the death of his father.

5. Themes
This poem is quite obvious about its main themes; death, dealing with loss, and losing faith.
All of the themes intertwine.
The poem is about the reality of the death of his father, and he does not try to cover up the harsh truth of what actually happens to a dead person.
It is showing how Betjeman has to come to terms with the fact that his father has died.
The poem shows Betjeman losing more faith in the existence of God as the poem goes on.

6. Ideas
The main idea shown through the poem is that death is the end – we do not go to heaven or any sort of afterlife. This saddens the poet, as he does not want the life of his father to come to a definite end. Most people find the idea of an afterlife comforting when they have lost a loved one, so coming to this realisation will upset Betjeman.
A more positive idea that this poem shows is that we should cherish the moments that we have with our loved ones, as Betjeman did with his father.

7. Quiz There is a sheet with questions on in front of you.
Please answer the questions on the quiz sheet.