helloh
03-11-2008, 06:00 PM
"Hi, I recently read Betjeman’s ‘Westgate-on-sea’ in which Betjeman evokes the genteel holiday resort of the 1930s. Howoever, am I right or is this poem saying very little, with lines filled with vacuity like: 'Some with wire around their glasses'. Don't get me wrong I love Betjeman but this poem seems to be saying very little. Or am I missing any major themes or issues. What do you think?
FROM
Westgate-on-sea
John Betjeman
Hark, I hear the bells of Westgate,
I will tell you what they sigh,
Where those minarets and steeples
Prick the open Thanet sky.
Happy bells of eighteen-ninety,
Bursting from your freestone tower!
Recalling laurel, shrubs and privet,
Red geraniums in flower.
....
Some with wire around their glasses,
Some with wire across their teeth,
Writhing frames for running noses
And the drooping lip beneath.
....
FROM
Westgate-on-sea
John Betjeman
Hark, I hear the bells of Westgate,
I will tell you what they sigh,
Where those minarets and steeples
Prick the open Thanet sky.
Happy bells of eighteen-ninety,
Bursting from your freestone tower!
Recalling laurel, shrubs and privet,
Red geraniums in flower.
....
Some with wire around their glasses,
Some with wire across their teeth,
Writhing frames for running noses
And the drooping lip beneath.
....