Glasgow 5th March 1971 Poem Analysis

The poem “Glasgow 5th March 1971” by Edwin Morgan is a poem about the harrowing incident where two heartless youths shoved a young bloke and his girl through a window. This essay will discuss Morgan’s use of Metaphors, word choice and onomatopoeia to explore the theme of violence.

To begin with, Morgan highlights the theme of violence in the metaphor “The young man’s face was bristling with fragments of glass.” This suggests his face is covered. The word “bristling” shows us how much glass was in his face. That tells us how vigorously they pushed them through the window. 

Another way Morgan brings up the theme of violence is through his use of onomatopoeia “spurts arterial blood” the word spurts has connotations of blood spraying everywhere this indicates how awful her injuries were and how severe the attack was.

An additional way he explores the theme of violence is with alliteration when he quotes her ”Wet-look white coat” his use of irony provides a clear image of the scene as her “wet-look white coat” is now actually wet with the blood from her leg.

Finally, Morgan uses word choice to show the theme of violence when he uses the word “operation”. This makes me believe they planned it, this also adds to the clinical tone of the poem.

In conclusion “Glasgow 5th March 1971” paints a vivid picture of a scene of violence. This is clear in the poet’s use of Metaphors and word choice.