Peckham Rye Lane – Amy Blakemore (2007) – Knowledge Organiser

Context (AO3)
William Blake - Towards the end of the London – The main ‘character’ of this poem Poem Analysis
poem, Blakemore mentions the Romantic poet is London or more specifically Peckham which NB – the spacing has been altered to fit In the first few lines, Blakemore underlines
William Blake. He also wrote a poem about is an area in South London. Blakemore on to the page. the fact that it is hot and sticky in London.
London. Later in his life, he also believed that describes the variety of races and ages of the Everyone is sweating – ‘perspiration’ and the
he saw angels and that they protected him. people she sees as well as referencing shops The sun, today – use of the metaphorical description ‘gunmetal
Poet’s life – Amy Blakemore lives and works such as Primark and KFC. She is also sitting it leaks desperation, droplets’ shows that everyone is shiny with
in London and this poem draws on her own on the bus which is one of the many ways to Gunmetal droplets of perspiration sweat.
experiences of living in a big city. get around a city such as London and the
poem is written to follow her journey gather. Blakemore then describes what she sees
fromthe bus. The first description is of the
I take the bus – through Peckham. knickers outside of Primark. The use of
Language, form and structure
simile ‘like salted jellyfish -tentacle pink’
Form and structure: The poem has no Imagery: Blakemore uses a number of
Knickers lie flaccid gives the scene a natural and seaside feel.
structured rhyme scheme or stanzas. There images to evoke the sights she sees. The
She combines this with colour imagery to
are some alternate rhymes such as colour imagery of the knickers outside
in Primark. show how the underwear is designed for
‘desperation/perspiration’ but the lack of form Primark (‘pink’ and ‘mauve’) show the
everyone – ‘pink’, ‘grandmother mauve’ and
and meter mimic the ‘stop-start’ nature of a different ages of the customers. She also
Like salted jellyfish – tentacle pink, ‘rainbow’. The use of the word ‘briny’ also
bus journey and the bustle of a busy London uses natural images to describe the haircuts
takes us back to the sea/natural images.
street in the summer. of the people she sees.
grandmother mauve
Layout: The poem covers a large space with Tone: The tone of the poem is urgent and In the next section, Blakemore emphasises
some single words and lines left to stand out. vibrant which reflects the busy and crammed briny in £2 racks of rainbow. how cramped and busy the road is. She
Again, this allows the reader to take the streets the bus is travelling down. Blakemore describes the lane with the adjective ‘tight’
journey with Blakemore as some sights are writes in the first person to give the reader Peckham Rye lane is tight which makes us feel like there isn’t enough
more descriptive than others as the bus the impression that she is seeing all of this in room for the bus. This oppressive feel is
moves along. ‘real’ time. as damp and crammed as a coconut shell continued in the next line with the metaphor
Similes: Blakemore uses a number of People and crowds: Most of the imagery ‘as damp and crammed as a coconut shell’
natural/sea-based similes. This allows the focuses on the different people – from afro combs and mobile phones in the
reader to see how Blakemore is describing a grandmas to babies – who walk up and down white heat – In the next few lines, Blakemore shows how
scene which is natural for London and how the road. Blakemore describes each person different cultures and ages mix together on
there is beauty in this urban and busy scene. as a ‘hairbrush bristle’ which shows how punctuated cornrows and seed beads, the busy roads. She describes the hairstyles
crammed in everyone is. and accessories with natural images ‘seed
cornflower scrunchies, liquorice weaves. beads’, cornflower scrunchies, liquorice
Themes weaves’.
Belonging: Blakemore’s poem shows how City life: The poem is set in a busy urban The delicate babies in KFC,
everyone from different ages and cultures road with lots of people going about their Blakemore then describes the younger people
interact and belong in their surroundings on lives on a summer’s day. Blakemore uses a children, plaid-dressed children, in the restaurant and how they are unhappy
the hot, London road. The poem is positive lot of nature and sea imagery to show that in the heat as they use ‘drumsticks like
about the crowds and the people who live in the sight is beautiful and natural in its own wailing, clutching drumsticks like weapons’
London. way.
weapons. The last few lines are less literal and
Poems for comparison descriptive and more thoughtful. Blakemore
Us – Zaffar Kunial (2018). This Island Man – Grace Nichols (1984). Both Underfoot uses a powerful image to show how crowded
contemporary poem also looks at how Blakemore and Nichols discuss London in their the streets are as each person is ‘a sturdy
different sets of people interact and respond poems using original and irregular forms, the pavement is a gruesome meat, hairbrush bristle’ on the pavement. This idea
to each other. Whereas Blakemore shows meters and structures. Blakemore’s 1st each person is a sturdy hairbrush bristle that each person is strong and individual but
how everyone gets along in Peckham, Kunial person narrative is more positive than Nichols’ on its surface. lost in the crowd shows how busy and
shows how there can be some distance 3rd person island man who is more reflective cramped London streets are.
between different sets of people. and nostalgic. Angels gaze from the treetops
She ends with an illusion to William Blake – a
like William Blake poet who wrote about London but who also
and radiate believed that he saw angels in the trees who
comfort. watched over him.