Structure and Language of the poem 'Six O'Clock News'...

'Six O'Clock News...' is a dialect poem, and its structure and language are full of the aggression that the author feels about people who 'write him off' because of the way he speaks.

Structure

• The poem is written as a single, unbroken verse - which makes it feel like an angry 'rant' (outburst).

• This feeling is reinforced by the lack of punctuation.

• Short lines make it forceful and 'direct'.

• The lines are written as they would be on an autocue for a real newsreader.

• Is the narrow way it is laid out commenting on the way the poet feels that his language is being constricted?

Language

• The poem is written in a phonetic version of Tom Leonard's own Glaswegian dialect.

• It uses slang and 'uncouth' words..

• The author speaks directly to the reader.

• Leonard even insults the readers.

Links

Main Sources

BBC Bitesize - simple explanation

Other websites

Rendell Harris's comments

brill BBC podcast (text version)

First, we need to make some Brief Notes:

What does the BBC Bitesize webpage say about the structure and language of the poem?

(if you wish, here is space for other notes/ideas from other websites)

Now make your own notes about The Structure & Language of '6 O'Clock News'....

(REMEMBER - in your notes, you MUST support your ideas by referring to the text of the poem.)

The MEANING of 'Six O'Clock News ...' is that Tom Leonard is angry that people won't take him seriously because of his Scottish accent.

Mouseover here to see the text of the poem

Let's start by looking at STRUCTURE of the poem (for ideas, mouseover here).

Choose THREE things you notice about the STRUCTURE of the poem and - for each - explain how Leonard uses them to get across the meaning.

Mouseover here to see the text of the poem

Now let's go on to think about the LANGUAGE of the poem (for ideas, mouseover here).

Choose THREE things you notice about the LANGUAGE of the poem and - for each - explain how Leonard uses them to get across the meaning.

Mouseover here to see the text of the poem

Finally, choose two particularly powerful words and phrases from the poem and explain why - for you - they drive home so powerfully the meaning of the poem.

Your name:
Your form:

     this is thi
     six a clock
     news thi
     man said n
5   thi reason
     a talk wia

BBC accent
iz coz yi

widney wahnt

10 mi ti talk
     aboot thi
     trooth wia
     voice lik

wanna yoo

15 scruff. if

     a toktaboot
     thi trooth
     lik wanna yoo
     scruff yi

20 widny thingk
     it wuz troo.
     jist wanna yoo
     scruff tokn.
     thirza right
25 way ti spell
     ana right way
     to tok it. this
     is me tokn yir
     right way a
30 spellin. this
     is ma trooth.
     yooz doant no
     thi trooth
     yirsellz cawz
35 yi canny talk
     right. this is
     the six a clock
     nyooz. belt up.

Structure - hints

Think about:

(Lacking Visual Structure Really Ruins Poems)

• Line length

• Visual layout

• Stanzas - how the content is organised

• Rhyme and rhythm

• Repetition

• Punctuation

(and WHY the poet has chosen to do that).

Language - hints

Think about:

(Don't Speak Quietly In This Lesson)

• Dialect

• who is Speaking

• Are there any Questions and commands

• Images, similes and metaphors

• Tone

• Literary techniques such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, personification etc.

(and WHY the poet has chosen to do that).