The Hunchback in the Park

1. The Hunchback in the Park Dylan Thomas

2. AQA Learning Objectives • AO1 – respond to texts critically and imaginatively, select and evaluate textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations. • AO2 – explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers' presentation of ideas, themes and settings.

3. The Hunchback in the Park The hunchback in the park A solitary mister Propped between trees and water From the opening of the garden lock That lets the trees and water enter Until the Sunday sombre bell at dark Eating bread from a newspaper Drinking water from the chained cup That the children filled with gravel In the fountain basin where I sailed my ship Slept at night in a dog kennel But nobody chained him up.

4. Like the park birds he came early Like the water he sat down And Mister they called Hey mister The truant boys from the town Running when he had heard them clearly On out of sound Past lake and rockery Laughing when he shook his paper Hunchbacked in mockery Through the loud zoo of the willow groves Dodging the park keeper With his stick that picked up leaves.

5. And the old dog sleeper Alone between nurses and swans While the boys among willows Made the tigers jump out of their eyes To roar on the rockery stones And the groves were blue with sailors Made all day until bell time A woman figure without fault Straight as a young elm Straight and tall from his crooked bones That she might stand in the night After the locks and chains All night in the unmade park After the railings and shrubberies The birds the grass the trees the lake And the wild boys innocent as strawberries Had followed the hunchback To his kennel in the dark.

6. These are pictures of the actual park that Dylan Thomas was writing about in this poem. How would you describe this place from these pictures?

7. The Hunchback in the Park The hunchback in the park 'A solitary mister' Propped between trees and water From the opening of the garden lock That lets the trees and water enter Until the Sunday sombre bell at dark What does this short line suggest? Why might the man be ‘propped’? Why is the bell ‘sombre’?

8. Eating bread from a newspaper Drinking water from the chained cup That the children filled with gravel In the fountain basin where I sailed my ship Slept at night in a dog kennel But nobody chained him up. What are the children doing here? What does this suggest about the hunchback?

9. Like the park birds he came early Like the water he sat down And Mister they called Hey mister The truant boys from the town Running when he had heard them clearly On out of sound What do the similes show? What sort of boys might they be? What are they doing here?

10. What is the effect of this phrase? Past lake and rockery Laughing when he shook his paper Hunchbacked in mockery Through the loud zoo of the willow groves Dodging the park keeper With his stick that picked up leaves. What does this metaphor suggest? What is the effect of having no punctuation in the stanza?

11. Why has the poet mentioned these in particular? And the old sleeper Alone between nurses and swans While the boys among willows Made the tigers jump out of their eyes To roar on the rockery stones And the groves were blue with sailors What is the effect of this metaphor?

12. Made all day until bell time A woman figure without fault Straight as a young elm Straight and tall from his crooked bones That she might stand in the night After the locks and chains What is the effect of these contrasting words? • What is the hunchback doing when he creates this imaginary woman?

13. Why is there no punctuation in this line? All night in the unmade park After the railings and shrubberies The birds the grass the trees the lake And the wild boys innocent as strawberries Had followed the hunchback To his kennel in the dark. Why is this ironic?