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Death In Leamington
She died in the upstairs bedroom
By the light of the ev'ning star
That shone through the plate glass window
From over Leamington Spa
Beside her the lonely crochet
Lay patiently and unstirred,
But the fingers that would have work'd it
Were dead as the spoken word.
And Nurse came in with the tea-things
Breast high 'mid the stands and chairs-
But Nurse was alone with her own little soul,
And the things were alone with theirs.
She bolted the big round window,
She let the blinds unroll,
She set a match to the mantle,
She covered the fire with coal.
And "Tea!" she said in a tiny voice
"Wake up! It's nearly five"
Oh! Chintzy, chintzy cheeriness,
Half dead and half alive.
Do you know that the stucco is peeling?
Do you know that the heart will stop?
From those yellow Italianate arches
Do you hear the plaster drop?
Nurse looked at the silent bedstead,
At the gray, decaying face,
As the calm of a Leamington ev'ning
Drifted into the place.
She moved the table of bottles
Away from the bed to the wall;
And tiptoeing gently over the stairs
Turned down the gas in the hall.
By the light of the ev'ning star
That shone through the plate glass window
From over Leamington Spa
Beside her the lonely crochet
Lay patiently and unstirred,
But the fingers that would have work'd it
Were dead as the spoken word.
And Nurse came in with the tea-things
Breast high 'mid the stands and chairs-
But Nurse was alone with her own little soul,
And the things were alone with theirs.
She bolted the big round window,
She let the blinds unroll,
She set a match to the mantle,
She covered the fire with coal.
And "Tea!" she said in a tiny voice
"Wake up! It's nearly five"
Oh! Chintzy, chintzy cheeriness,
Half dead and half alive.
Do you know that the stucco is peeling?
Do you know that the heart will stop?
From those yellow Italianate arches
Do you hear the plaster drop?
Nurse looked at the silent bedstead,
At the gray, decaying face,
As the calm of a Leamington ev'ning
Drifted into the place.
She moved the table of bottles
Away from the bed to the wall;
And tiptoeing gently over the stairs
Turned down the gas in the hall.
Analysis (ai):
"In Leamington" is a poem of contrasting images and emotions. It begins
with a peaceful scene of a woman dying in a bedroom by the light of the
evening star. The crochet by her bed suggests that she was a domestic
woman, now at peace. The next stanza introduces Nurse, who brings in tea
and prepares the room for the night. Her focus on her own tasks
suggests the impersonal nature of her role.
In the third stanza, the poem shifts to a more unsettling tone. Nurse bolts the window, unrolls the blinds, and covers the fire, creating a sense of isolation and confinement. The phrase "chintzy, chintzy-ness" suggests a faded and decaying world, with the peeling stucco and dropping plaster representing the crumbling of time.
The poem concludes with Nurse looking at the deceased woman's face and the calm evening drifting into the room. The gas in the hall is turned down, further emphasizing the sense of stillness and decay.
Compared to Betjeman's other works, "In Leamington" is notable for its use of domestic imagery to evoke a sense of sadness and loss. It also reflects the broader themes of time and mortality that run through much of his poetry. In the context of the time period, the poem's depiction of the fading grandeur of the Victorian era speaks to the changing social and economic landscape of post-war Britain.
In the third stanza, the poem shifts to a more unsettling tone. Nurse bolts the window, unrolls the blinds, and covers the fire, creating a sense of isolation and confinement. The phrase "chintzy, chintzy-ness" suggests a faded and decaying world, with the peeling stucco and dropping plaster representing the crumbling of time.
The poem concludes with Nurse looking at the deceased woman's face and the calm evening drifting into the room. The gas in the hall is turned down, further emphasizing the sense of stillness and decay.
Compared to Betjeman's other works, "In Leamington" is notable for its use of domestic imagery to evoke a sense of sadness and loss. It also reflects the broader themes of time and mortality that run through much of his poetry. In the context of the time period, the poem's depiction of the fading grandeur of the Victorian era speaks to the changing social and economic landscape of post-war Britain.
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