Education for Leisure
Encyclopedia
"Education for Leisure" is a poem by Poet Laureate
Carol Ann Duffy
which explores the mind of a person who is planning to commit a murder
. Until 2008 the poem was studied at GCSE level in England and Wales as part of the AQA Anthology
, a collection of poems by modern poets such as Duffy and Seamus Heaney
.
I have had enough of being ignored and today I am going to play God." The individual in the poem feels undervalued and kills a fly and a gold fish before going outside armed with a bread knife.
Teachit.co.uk compares the subject of the poem to the incident where Brenda Ann Spencer
carried out a shooting spree in an American school and explained her actions by stating "I don't like Mondays". The killings inspired the Boomtown Rats song I Don't Like Mondays. The poem is set against a backdrop of rising social problems in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and can be considered critical of Thatcherism
. The poem references Gloucester's speech in Act 4 of King Lear
, a speech which condemns violence.
were accused of censorship after it removed the poem from its AQA Anthology after three complaints about the poem. The most vocal complainant was Lutterworth Grammar School's exam invigilator Pat Schofield who described the poem as "absolutely horrendous".
Duffy responded to the ban by citing the level of violence in the plays of Shakespeare and by stating that she considered the message of the poem to be pro-learning and anti-violence. Some teachers stated that they would continue to teach the poem. The BBC reported that schools had been told to destroy copies of the Anthology which contained the poem. In 2002 a school in Hull
refused to teach the poem.
Since the censorship, the new editions of the AQA Anthology contain a page where the poem was with the words 'This page is left intentionally blank' as a placeholder
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009...
which explores the mind of a person who is planning to commit a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Until 2008 the poem was studied at GCSE level in England and Wales as part of the AQA Anthology
AQA Anthology
The AQA Anthology is a collection of poems and short texts which are studied in English schools for GCSE English and English Literature, produced by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance...
, a collection of poems by modern poets such as Duffy and Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
.
Description
The poem begins with the lines "Today I am going to kill something. Anything.I have had enough of being ignored and today I am going to play God." The individual in the poem feels undervalued and kills a fly and a gold fish before going outside armed with a bread knife.
Teachit.co.uk compares the subject of the poem to the incident where Brenda Ann Spencer
Brenda Ann Spencer
Brenda Ann Spencer is a convicted American murderer who carried out a shooting spree from her home in San Diego, California, on January 29, 1979. During the shooting spree, she killed two people and injured nine others at Cleveland Elementary School, which was located across the street from her home...
carried out a shooting spree in an American school and explained her actions by stating "I don't like Mondays". The killings inspired the Boomtown Rats song I Don't Like Mondays. The poem is set against a backdrop of rising social problems in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and can be considered critical of Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
. The poem references Gloucester's speech in Act 4 of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, a speech which condemns violence.
Censorship
In 2008 concerns about the levels of teenage knife crime in the United Kingdom led to complaints about the inclusion of the poem in a GCSE text book. Exam Board AQAAQA
AQA could refer to or stand for:* aqa, the ISO 639-5 for the unspecified Alacalufan languages* Any Question Answered – an SMS message service providing the answer to any question, based in London, United Kingdom....
were accused of censorship after it removed the poem from its AQA Anthology after three complaints about the poem. The most vocal complainant was Lutterworth Grammar School's exam invigilator Pat Schofield who described the poem as "absolutely horrendous".
Duffy responded to the ban by citing the level of violence in the plays of Shakespeare and by stating that she considered the message of the poem to be pro-learning and anti-violence. Some teachers stated that they would continue to teach the poem. The BBC reported that schools had been told to destroy copies of the Anthology which contained the poem. In 2002 a school in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
refused to teach the poem.
Since the censorship, the new editions of the AQA Anthology contain a page where the poem was with the words 'This page is left intentionally blank' as a placeholder