"Them" and "Uz"

Poem Review # 45841

English > Analysis
Literature > Poetry

"Them" and "Uz"

A review of the poems "Them" and "Uz" by Tony Harrison.

1,227 words () | 0 sources | 2003 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the pair poems "Them" and "Uz" by Tony Harrison about conflicts, in particular between classes and snobbery in relation to attitudes regarding art. It shows how Harrison explores the ideas of classes in relation to their boundaries and the interaction between them. It also looks at how "Them" and "Uz" are two poems in which Harrison describes the attitudes of Britain towards language and his towards Britain in relation to language.

From the Paper:

"Lines three to twelve are the words of the teacher, that taught Harrison as a boy, towards Harrison's accent. His description of Harrison as "barbarian" is very bestial and dehumanising along with his use of ?T.W.? instead of Tony. Lines five through to eight describe the way in which it is believed that classic English Literature should only be said in "proper English", otherwise there is not point in it at all, this is clearly enforced as is seen by Harrison only being seen as suitable for "playing the drunken porter" in Macbeth (the characters role consists of mumbling, urinating and opening a gate). From lines ten to twelve the reader realises that what is called "proper English" is in fact simply another dialect. This is shown by now not only putting Harrison's pronunciation of us in square brackets, but the teacher's as well."