MCMXIV

Those long uneven linesStanding as patientlyAs if they were stretched outsideThe Oval or Villa Park,The crowns of hats, the sunOn moustached archaic facesGrinning as if it were allAn August Bank Holiday lark; And the shut shops, the bleachedEstablished names on the sunblinds,The farthings and sovereigns,And dark-clothed children at playCalled after kings and queens,The tin advertisementsFor cocoa and twist, and the pubsWide open all day-- And the countryside not caring:The place names all hazed overWith flowering grasses, and fieldsShadowing Domesday linesUnder wheat's restless silence;The differently-dressed servantsWith tiny rooms in huge houses,The dust behind limousines; Never such innocence,Never before or since,As changed itself to pastWithout a word--the menLeaving the gardens tidy,The thousands of marriages,Lasting a little while longer:Never such innocence again.

Title - suggests the past

HAPPINESS & SECURITY

bucolic - rural/idealverdant - green/floralhalycon - perfect/beautiful

obliviousness

sudden - acceptance of changepathos

A) Nostalgia - end of an eraLIST'Those long uneven lines''The crowns of hats, the sunOn moustached archaic faces''And the  shut shops, the bleachedEstablished names on the sunblinds, The farthings and sovereigns''The tin advertisementsFor cocoa and twist, and the pubsWide open all day'

B) Innocence'Those long uneven linesStanding as patientlyAs if they were stretched outsideThe Oval or Villa Park.''Grinning as if it were allAn August Bank Holiday lark.''And dark-clothed children at play''Never such innocence,Never before or since''Never such innocence again'

C) Happiness/security/bucolic (rural/ideal)'Grinning as if it were all an August Bank Holiday lark''...and the pubsWide open all day''And the countryside not caring:The place names all hazed overWith flowering grasses, and fields''Without a word - the menLeaving the gardens tidy'

D) Nothing is permanent'the shut shops''Never such innocenceNever before or since''Never such innocence again'

E) Imagery - sepia - verdant'The crowns of hats, the sunOn moustached archaic faces''And the shut shops, the bleachedEstablished names on the sunblinds''The tin advertisementFor cocoa and twist, and the pubsWide open all day''And the countryside not caringThe place-names all hazed over With flowering grasses, and fields'

F) Age'archaic faces''farthings and sovereigns''... the bleachedEstablished names on the sunblinds'

G) Traditional - old fashioned'And dark-clothed children at playCalled after kings and queens'

H) Disturbance of serenity'Shadowing Domesday linesUnder wheat's restless silence'

I) End of innocence'Never such innocenceNever before or since,As changed itself to pastWithout a word - the menLeaving the gardens tidy,The thousands of marriagesLasting a little while longerNever such innocence again'

Notes

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