A literary analysis of norman mccaig s poem

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Cop

Norman McCaigs Brooklyn Cop is a poem that is exploring the concept of the violence which is a theme that has the potential to affect all of us. This topic is discovered by McCaig, by writing about a cop in Brooklyn and the daily dangers that he faces.

The poem is about a cop who functions in Brooklyn, New York, which can be renowned for being a rather violent society, thus making the task of being a cop right now there even stronger than being a cop somewhere else. The fact that all working day is actually a life threatening situation for him is well-off throughout the poem, as is the fierce, difficult and persistent characteristics of the Brooklyn Police officer, all of which will be necessities for him to be able to fulfil his duties.

The physical description with the cop leaves the reader in no doubt concerning his aggressive appearance. McCaig uses the simile in the first line of the cop being constructed like gorilla. This immediately allows the reader to have the picture of the police officer being large and very daunting, which is again, a necessary feature for a gentleman with this sort of a job. The photographs of him having the necessary qualities for his harmful job, will be continued when his epidermis is referred to as being heavy fleshes, steak coloured. This provides you with the reader the of him being a stereotypical red encountered person, someone who is angered easily and has a short temper. Again the features to be unforgiving and volatile happen to be included in the ones that would be required for his job, when working with the kind of bad guys he has to on a daily basis.

The cops eyes are skillfully described as staying two hieroglyphs. that mean problems. This metaphor implies that the cop is incredibly difficult to understand and is someone who cannot be examine easily. Again this is a key feature pertaining to the police officer as it gives him a distinct benefit over his criminal opposing team when facing them in one to one situations. The fact sevylor means trouble also shows him to be overwhelming and imply that the very glare of his eyes would be enough to strike dread into the toughest of crooks.

In keeping with the police appearance, his job, by its very nature, is a potentially violent one. This individual risks his life each and every day and this is usually apparent by his words and phrases to his wife. Ahead of leaving for work he tells her see you girl it is then simply said that he hoped this, he truly hoped this. This repeating of expected it places emphasis on the simple fact that this individual really would hope it because he was more than well aware that he could be killed at your workplace and such a scenario was not unlikely. He really did hope that he would produce it through another day in the violent contemporary society he policed, and once again view his wife.

The phrase hiya honey is definitely something that many American males would state on this kind of a regular basis to their wives and female friends that it came into existence a clich and was said out of habit. However with the Brooklyn Cop in question, this was not the case because when he stated it to his wife, he was really delighted that he had managed to do so, since it meant that he had survived one other extremely hazardous day even though trying to stamp out some of the violence within his patrol.

We are told that the police officer walks your sidewalk and the thin tissue above violence. The metaphor of describing the civilised world as being a slender tissue over violence means that there is chaotic society below or within just all civilised societies which violence is so close to all of us that the civilisation and physical violence are merely segregated by a thin tissue. As a result the reader is being made conscious of the assault that co-exists with all civilisations. This metaphor is particularly successful as the phrase tissue features connotations of something that is definitely broken and since the assault is identified as being underneath this muscle the implication is that any individual can fall season through in this chaotic society, whether they are victims or perpetrators of physical violence, it has the potential to affect us all.

The use of extended metaphor in verse two serves to stress the fragility of keeping this peace. The potential for becoming affected by the physical violence is brought in again the moment McCaig discussions of the tissue tear which usually relates to the cop disregarding through this thin vulnerable tissue, each time a violent situation erupts and he is instantly called into a potentially extremely dangerous situation in order to be the peace keeper. His fall season through this kind of tissue is described as a plunge that has the associations of not any hesitance in the cop in to the new and unknown hazards that rest beneath this tissue between civilisation and a violent society. The very fact that he has no hesitations shows that he knows what he must do to be able to carry out his job of eliminating violence from society, which is although an endless task.

Several places around the cops overcome are described and for instance , Phoebes, Whamburger and Louies Place. Many of these places are used by McCaig to establish placing as they are most very commonly American brands, which is certainly where this kind of violent underworld is being pictured. The use of wham in Whamburger is among the onomatopoeia getting used to add impact as it gives the result of physical violence being dedicated as it is the sound that may be built when someone or something is hit by somebody in a violently motivated way. This is keeping in line with the theme of the poem and is another way to get McCaig to emphasise that violence is adjacent civilised contemporary society. The replication of what before both equally clubbing and gunshots allows emphasise the strength and vastness of quite a few violent acts thus once again relating to the theme of physical violence being so prominent inside society.

The 1st two passages have described the cop himself, his attitude, his beat plus the daily problems he looks. In the third verse McCaig shows that he feels pity for the cop as he has such a dangerous work, but one which is so very much valued by modern day contemporary society. McCaig mirrors sympathy to get the police officer as he demands who would end up being him as it is a job, inside the eyes of McCaig, that all few people would want to do yet is necessary for the working of world as it is noted. It is crystal clear that his pity is definitely not expressive as he keeps the metaphor of the cop being like a gorilla, hence making him still precisely the same intimidating and ruthless person.

McCaig tells of how the cops work is daily a life threatening situation if he says is usually home is definitely somewhere he might, this time, under no circumstances get back to. The very fact that he says this time and he puts it in parenthesis, makes the target audience pause and dwell on the importance of this time. It does naturally relate to the fact that every time there is a opportunity he may not return so that as each day comes there is always this kind of grim likelihood for him and his family and friends, to have to know about. McCaig is implying the fact this individual has made this home almost every times means nothing on the hope that he will return home safely this time, or any type of other amount of time in the future.

In the final verse, though, McCaig encourages the reader to consider the problems face by cops victims. The word sufferer implies that the person in question is someone who has believed the difficulty of someone more to an extent that they have recently been unfairly treated and it is amazing that McCaig describes these types of criminals, incorrect doers, while people who have been unfairly treated. McCaig perceives these people because victims for the reason that cop is so strong and gorilla that way he offers such an benefit over the crooks that have virtually no opportunity when facing him. He will probably get his way.

McCaig describes the victims as all who have to be hence implying that there often will be crooks in culture and no matter what someone has to fill this role inside the never ending group of friends of violence. I saw this as McCaig having a cynical view with the society this individual knew, since his implication is that no matter what any cops do, regardless of good a cop, you will see violence, probably in his sights, due to the method that contemporary society as we know it functions.

In conclusion McCaigs poem Brooklyn Cop paints a picture of a violent person doing a chaotic job within a violent region. While it may not be possible to like or perhaps approve of the cop, That stuff seriously the poet shows that this individual understands the circumstances that the policeman faces, and seems to claim that there is no escape from the home perpetuating issue of violence.