Section 1:

In Section 1 you will read an extract from a Scottish text that you have studied in class and answer questions.

There are 20 marks available for answering these questions

Section 2:

In Section 2 you will write one critical essay about a text that you have studied in class. This text can be drama, prose, poetry, film and television drama or language.

You will have the option of the Prose section based on your study of Superman and Paula browns New Snowsuit. or the Drama section based on your study of The Letterbox.

To date we have studied the following poems: In the Snack Bar, Trio and Good Friday

You will have to have a thorough understanding of all of these poems for the Prelim, although you will only be required to know 2 of them on the day.

The end of year exam will require you to know 6 of Edwin Morgans poems in total!

We will begin our revision by looking back at Good Friday

Three oclock. The bus lurchesComment by RWilliams: The time Jesus is thought to have died.Comment by RWilliams: The bus is changing gears/turning a corner. It moves in a similar way to the inebriated man.lurches present tense: creates a sense of immediacy

round into the sun. Ds this go Comment by RWilliams: Use of Glaswegian/Scots helps to set the scene. In addition, it shows his speech is slurred (Ds instead of Does). The dash shows that the flow of conversation is interrupted, either because of the movement of the bus, or the concentration of trying to sit down.

he flops beside me right along Bath Street?Comment by RWilliams: flops suggests a lack of control.Comment by RWilliams: Question remains unanswered. Perhaps the drunk man has answered himself? Perhaps the narrator wants to ignore him?This is the end of the Morgans narration until the last few lines

-Oh thas, thas all right, see Ive

got to get some Easter eggs for the kiddies.Comment by RWilliams: Easter eggs represent the stone covering the cave in which Christs body was buried. This event has been reduced to Easter eggs being bought for children. It has no real significance for him.Comment by RWilliams: Shows he is trying to be kind.

Ive had a wee drink, ye understand

yell maybe think its a funny dayComment by lauren duncan: Comment by lauren duncan: Perhaps the man senses Morgan may be judging him for drinking in the afternoon. Man feels he has to justify his actions to the stranger, Morgan.

to be celebrating well, no, but ye see

I wasny working, and I like to celebrate

when Im no working I dont say its right

Im no saying its right ye understand ye understand?Comment by RWilliams: Repetition. Wants to be understood/doesnt want to be judged. The repetition also suggests he is drunk

but anyway thas the way I look at it

Im no boring you, eh? ye see today,Comment by RWilliams: Rhetorical question. Morgan is probably not giving the man much back in the way of conversation

take today, I dont know what todays in aid of,Comment by RWilliams: He doesnt know the story of Easter/does not believe in it. Message: the ironic redundance of the role/ importance of treligion despite celebrating in its name

whether Christ was crucified or was he

rose fae the dead like, see what I mean?

Youre an educatit man, you can tell me Comment by RWilliams: He feels the difference in class and/or education.

-Aye, well. There you are. Its been seen

time and again, the working man

has nae education, he jist canny jistComment by lauren duncan: The man is self-deprecating which adds to our sympathy and acceptance of the man

hasny got it, know what I mean,

hes jist bliddy ignorant Christ aye,Comment by RWilliams: Two different uses of the word Christ.

bliddy ignorant. Well The bus brakes violently,Comment by RWilliams: Repetition. The man admits to not understanding.Comment by lauren duncan: Narrative voice returns to Morgan again. Use of present tense action verbs makes poem seem to be unfolding in front of our eyes again. Beginning and end of poem balance.

he lunges for the stair, swings down off,

into the sun for his Easter eggs,

(Rhyming couplet)on veryComment by RWilliams: Structure mimics the mans movements as he steps off the bus. It also creates a disruption in the flow of the final sentence hints at the mans concentration when disembarking the bus.

nearly

steady

legs.

Points to Consider:

The Realism of the poem:

The opening of the poem is full of real life detail. We know exactly where the encounter happens: on the top deck of a bus heading along Bath Street in Glasgow. We also know exactly when it happens: three oclock on Good Friday afternoon. We also know the weather is sunny.

However we do NOT find out any detail about the working man himself.

In this sense the character in Good Friday is unlike some of the other characters that Morgan describes: Trio and In the Snack Bar feature characters described quite vividly.

Despite this, the character is very real. This is partly due to how realistically Morgan renders the mans speech. Also, by beginning the poem so vividly, the reader is already convinced of the poems authenticity, including that of the man.

The use of present tense also adds to the realism of the poem as it creates a sense of immediacy which engages the reader instantaneously as we feel the events of the poem are unfolding in front of us.

The Role of the Narrator:

Morgan only narrates the first few lines of the poem and the last few lines: Three oclock. The bus lurches/ round in the sunhe flops beside me and the bus brakes violently, he lunges for the stair, swings down off

Everything in between consists of the mans dialogue and the use of the dashes to indicate the moments that Morgan has presumably responded to the man.

Christianity:

The title of the poem refers to a particular day on the Christian calendar. This is the day that Jesus was crucified,

The idea of Easter is picked up in the working mans mention of going to buy Easter eggs, and by his questions about the meaning of Easter in the 2nd half of the poem

If we look closely we can see other parallels. The opening words of the poem are:

Three oclock. The bus lurches

round into the sun

The Bible story of Jesus death, as told by a writer called Matthew, says:

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice (and) gave up his spirit.

The ninth hour here means about three in the afternoon, as the Jews of biblical times counted their hours from sunrise. So, Morgan in his poem has his bus come out into the sun at the exact same time as the Bible story has the darkness ending and Jesus dying.

You do not have to believe in or agree with the Bible story in order to enjoy this poem. But, if you understand the Easter story, you will be able to appreciate the poem better and see what Morgan, as a writer, is doing.

Back to the man in the poem

Significant points:

The working man in the poem does not fully understand the Christian stories and has more questions than answers

The way in which he celebrates this occasion is quite unorthodox

The working man says the word Christ twice in the poem, but in entirely different and ironic contexts.

What is Morgan trying to say then?..

Below are a few different ideas. Which do you agree most with?

That Easter means different things to different people p the mans celebratory drink and buying of eggs for his children is just as valid as any other way of marking it

That the church has not done a very good job of explaining things, if the man doesnt know What its in aid of.

That the church is not good at reaching ordinary working people. The man in the poem says he is bliddy ignorant about Easter. However, Morgan the poet knows the story in enough detail to be able to refer in his opening lines to the detail about the darkness and the third hour

It does seem that Morgan is questioning how much Christian beliefs and ritual are relevant in modern life. However, he also shows that we still need something to celebrate. The working man celebrates having a day off work. The poem also celebrates the arrival of spring.

If you wanted to take the ideas even further you could even consider the poem as an allegory of the resurrection story. However, in this version, the man is crucified by drink, but it resurrected again at the end when he steps back into the sunshine to celebrate the occasion with his children.

On the following page is set of revision questions, the first 4 of which are based on Good Friday. However, before you try them out, give the 8 Mark Question Helpline a phone

(Hello, 8 mark question helpline, how may I help? you?)

(Hello, Im hoping you can help me. I am freaking OUT about my 8 mark Scottish Texts question. Can you give me some guidance please?)

How to answer the 8 mark comparative question in the Scottish Texts section of your exam paper:

Organise your answer into 4 bullet points, each worth 2 marks:

1. Begin by referring to another text and say what it has in common / in contrast with the given text. (2 marks)

(e.g. theme, central relationship, importance of setting, use of imagery, development in characterisation, use of personal experience, use of narrative style, any other key feature)

For example:

Morgans poem Trio, with its strong theme of the importance of valuing and celebrating life a