Vernon Scannell

On A Case Of Murder

“We were doing this in english.We were analizing it.I hate the phrase,'Cracked like a nut'but i suspect the Boy's ill'treated. He said Daddy's stick. He might've have bin hit with it since he knows where it is and how 2 use ie. and no loving parent would leave there 9 year old alone with sumthing…”

On Where Shall We Go?

“Ithink this poem is about patriotic love and separation.This man really loved this woman to the extent where he cherished her mistakes or even her failings. He would sit and wait for her without getting annoyed however this has changed as the cherished annoyance of waiting for her has been replaced…”

On Nettles

“i am a i5 year old pupil and i have to compare this poem with another one it is hard work but i enjoy it because this poem is very acute and is easy to understand once you know what it is about. so for all the other pupils out there who have to do this coursework good luck x”

On Incendiary

“This was a very disturbing poem and I think that the end of the peom was srongly representing the weight of guilt that the boy had ever since he had killed the cat.The guilt stoed away growing and growing untill he bursts it out just like the cupboard burst from the steadily growing cat.”

On Ageing Schoolmaster

“As a reflection on aging the contrast between the teacher and the pupils makes the poem remarkable but the poet does not stress that aspect; he prefers to see only that death is inevitable for the young as the aging rather than draw any spurious irony out of the teacher's consciousnees of death and…”

On Wife Killer

“This poem is very funny, and very obviously easy to relate to, even if we are not married. We always dream of escaping our life, and Schannell's use of humour is sublime in showing this. Perhap's this man will never escape his wife. I don't know why he's so upset though, if I had a wife who cooked…”