Frustration with Education System Explored: Analysis of "Half-Past Two" by U.A. Fanthorpe

Half-Past Two by U.A. Fanthorpe To what extent does the poem Half- Past Two inspire feelings of frustration towards the education system? Name:

Read through the following text. As you are reading, make notes on your response to the text. You may wish to consider What you think is happening in the poem What you think the message of the poem is Any words, phrases or images that particularly strike you The way in which the poem is organised How you feel reading the poem Half-Past Two by UA Fanthorpe 1 2 3 Once upon a schooltime He did Something Very Wrong (I forget what it was). 4 5 6 And She said he d done Something Very Wrong, and must Stay in the school-room till half-past two. 7 8 9 (Being cross, she d forgotten She hadn t taught him Time. He was too scared at being wicked to remind her.) 10 11 12 He knew a lot of time; he knew Gettinguptime, timeyouwereofftime, Timetogohomenowtime, TV time, 13 14 15 Timeformykisstime (that was Grantime). All the important times he knew, But not half-past two. 16 17 18 He knew the clockface, the little eyes And two long legs for walking, But he couldn t click its language, 19 20 21 So he waited, beyond onceupona, Out of reach of all the timefors, And knew he d escaped for ever 22 23 24 Into the smell of old chrysanthemums on Her desk, Into the silent noise his hangnail made, Into the air outside the window, into ever. 25 26 27 And then, My goodness, she said, Scuttling in, I forgot all about you. Run along or you ll be late. 28 29 30 So she slotted him back into schooltime, And he got home in time for teatime, Nexttime, nottimeforthatnowtime, 31 32 33 But he never forgot how once by not knowing time, He escaped into the clockless land for ever, Where time hides tick-less waiting to be born.

Now watch the video lecture by Miss Odell entitled To what extent does the poem Half-Past Two inspire feelings of frustration towards the education system? As you are watching, annotate the poem to record the contextual backdrop to the poem, the key ideas, key words, phrases and images and key structural points. Half-Past Two by UA Fanthorpe 1 2 3 Once upon a schooltime He did Something Very Wrong (I forget what it was). 4 5 6 And She said he d done Something Very Wrong, and must Stay in the school-room till half-past two. 7 8 9 (Being cross, she d forgotten She hadn t taught him Time. He was too scared at being wicked to remind her.) 10 11 12 He knew a lot of time; he knew Gettinguptime, timeyouwereofftime, Timetogohomenowtime, TV time, 13 14 15 Timeformykisstime (that was Grantime). All the important times he knew, But not half-past two. 16 17 18 He knew the clockface, the little eyes And two long legs for walking, But he couldn t click its language, 19 20 21 So he waited, beyond onceupona, Out of reach of all the timefors, And knew he d escaped for ever 22 23 24 Into the smell of old chrysanthemums on Her desk, Into the silent noise his hangnail made, Into the air outside the window, into ever. 25 26 27 And then, My goodness, she said, Scuttling in, I forgot all about you. Run along or you ll be late. 28 29 30 So she slotted him back into schooltime, And he got home in time for teatime, Nexttime, nottimeforthatnowtime, 31 32 33 But he never forgot how once by not knowing time, He escaped into the clockless land for ever, Where time hides tick-less waiting to be born.

Harkness discussion / reflection sheet: Half-Past Two How has Fanthorpe created a younger voice in this poem? What do we learn about the importance of Time from this poem? What criticism does Fanthorpe make of the education system? What particular language choices or structural choices from the poem stand out for you? Compare and contrast question: How does Fanthorpe s criticism of education compare to Adichie s or Zephaniah s criticism of learning as a young child?