HALF TERM

Always autumn, in my memory.

Butter ringing the drilled teashop crumpets;

Handmade chocolates, rich enough to choke you,

Brought in special smooth paper from Town.

(Back at school, the square tall piles

Of bread, featureless red jam in basins,

Grace, a shuffle of chairs. the separate table

For the visiting lacrosse team.)

Long awkward afternoons in hotel lounges,

Islanded in swollen armchairs, eyeing

Aristocratic horses in irrelevant magazines.

Should I be talking to Them?

(Back at school the raptly selfish

Snatch at self: the clashing

Determined duets in cold practising-

Room, the passionate solitary knitting.)

Inadequacies of presentation, perceived

By parents’ temporary friends; hair, manners,

Clothes, have failed to adjust.

I don’t know the rules of snooker.

(Back at school, the stiff reliable

Awkwardness of work. History test

On Monday morning. Deponent verbs.

I have never been good at maths.)

Saying goodbye. There are tears

And hugs, relief, regret. They,

Like me, return to a patterned life

Whose rules are easy. Unworthily

I shall miss chocolate, crumpets,

Comfort, but not the love I only

Sense as they go, waving to the end,

Vague in the streetlamps of November.

(Back at school the bullies

Tyrants and lunatics are waiting.

I can deal with them.)

Analysis

Half-Term discusses two of the speaker’s periods in life, namely the speaker’s school life and their adult,
working life. It draws comparisons between the two and points out the similarities between the two in
the form of memories and flashbacks by use of repetition of ‘Back at school‘ and the use of brackets. The
contrast are seen clearly through comparisons of the vibrant present and a bleaker past. For example,
stanza 1 and stanza 2 compare the present and the speaker’s school life through the mentions of
‘teashop crumpets‘, ‘handmade chocolates, rich enough to choke you‘ that are ‘brought in special
smooth paper from Town‘; Stanza 2 instead mentions plain bread, and ‘featureless red jam in basins‘,
showing a much more depressing school life as such sweets are often correlated with a happy
atmosphere whereas the food items in stanza 2 are much bleaker and less vibrant in general. The
speaker implies that their school life was generally more lonely, but that some of this loneliness or
isolation followed the speaker into adulthood. In stanza 3, the speaker felt out of place with others,
emphasized by the bolded ‘Should I be talking to Them?‘ ‘Them‘ is also capitalized so as to emphasize
others were like another breed or level above the speaker. Stanza 4 also emphasizes this isolation with
terms like ‘cold‘, ‘snatch at self‘ and ‘solitary‘

On the bright side of things, adult life has given the speaker friends as well but weirdly the poem
focuses on their separation instead, as shown in stanza 7. Perhaps this serves to highlight the
bittersweetness of adult life and demonstrate that the speaker cannot truly escape from these
negative things that were once widespread during their school days. A ‘patterned life‘ is another
example of something that cannot be escaped from, whereby the freedom so coveted in
adulthood is close to non-existent. The speaker also states that they will miss the pleasures of
adult life, all except the love that they received. This love will not be missed because the speaker
is not losing it in the first place, instead staying by their side even until the harsh month of
November. However. the poem doesn’t end here, instead reflecting on another day in school,
where the ‘bullies, tyrants and lunatics‘ wait to punish them. This outlook doesn’t end on a
negative note, instead saying that the speaker ‘can deal with them.‘ This is a sharp contrast to
the previous stanzas that recollect school life, whereby there is a more positive note that
alleviates the rest of the speaker’s otherwise horrible school life, showing a small glimmer of
hope and self-confidence that is carried forward into the speaker’s adult life.
Whether this is a message of encouragement or a subtle warning about the ups and downs of life,
it would be completely up to the interpretation of the reader. The use of imagery and subtle
references reminds the reader to be either vigilant or cherish every stage of life, facing the
obstacles in life with determination just like how the speaker did it even in such a bleak school
environment.

Literary Elements
i. Enjambment – Brings forward an element of uncertainty and anxiety for the speaker
ii. Hypotaxis
iii. Sibilance
HALF TERM
(analysis &
themes)
U.A.
FANTHORPE
Always, autumn, in my memory,
Butter ringing the drilled teashop
crumpets;
Handmade chocolates, rich enough
to
choke you,
Brought in special smooth paper
from
Town.
Persona is describing the time-
holiday from
school. she usually remembers that
it is
autumn. Enjoying the luxuries of
life, in
terms of food/stationary.
(Back at school, the square tall
piles
Of bread, featureless red jam in
basins,
Grace, a shuffle of chairs, the
separate
table
For the visiting lacrosse team.)
The scene is at school, the dining
hall- food
is boring and basic. no luxury,
messy
movements, and yet it is very
structure
Long awkward afternoons in the
lounges,
Islanded in swollen armchairs,
eyeing
Aristocratic horses in irrelevant
magazines.
Should I be talking to them?
Persona is describing an afternoon
with her
(?), spending time together, not
doing
much, feeling awkward with each
other
(Back at school the raptly selfish
Snatch at self: the clashing
Determined duets in cold
practising-
Room, the passionate solitary
knitting.)
Describing free time at school-
gainfully,
having active
conversations/discussions
maybe arguments. even
mundane/relaxing
tasks seem to be done with some
enthusiasm.
Inadequacies of presentation,
perceived
By parents’ temporary friends;
hair,
manners,
Clothes, have failed to adjust.
I don’t know the rules of snooker.
The persona is uncomfortable, she
is at a
loss, doesn’t fit in, she feels like a
failure/inadequate in her parent’s
eyes. She
feels out of place during holidays
especially
when meeting friends of her
parents.
(Back at school, the stiff reliable
Awkwardness of work. History
test
On Monday morning. Deponent
verbs.
I have never been good at maths.)
Unpleasant times at school. doing
things
she is not comfortable with, talking
about
subjects she is weak at (maths),
boring
parts of learning.
Saying goodbye. There are tears
And hugs, relief, regret. They,
Like me, return to a patterned life
Whose rules are easy. Unworthily
The last day of holiday, time to say
good-
bye. both she and her parents are
going
back to their normal routine.
feeling sad, but
relieved. they find that living
during school
or in school is the norm.
I shall miss chocolate, crumpets,
Comfort, but not the love I only
Sense as they go, waving to the
end,
Vague in the streetlamps of
November.
She is only going to miss the
luxuries of
being at home/holiday, the food,
but not
really her parents. this is because
she only
feels their love as she is going
back to