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Analysis of Captain of the 1964 Top of the Form Team

Synopsis= The programme "Top of the Form" was a BBC radio and TV quiz for secondary schools in the UK running from 1948-1986. Therefore this poem is based upon a speaker who was on this programme during the 60's and won, however since this victory they have been unable to move past this moment of their childhood and this theme is prevalent throughout the poem.

 Key Quotations + Analysis=
1.) "Fizzing hope"
  • "Fizzing" has connotations of sugary/fizzy drinks such as coke, which has further allusions to childhood as this was a drink commonly consumed during our school years. 
  • The word choice fizzing also suggests that the speaker believes his youth was so special it was worth celebrating as champagne bottles are also known as "fizz". However it is significant that over time a fizz dies out and becomes flat, which mimics the significance of his memories. They are still "fizzing" to him but to everyone else they are flat. 
2.) "A cowboy"
  • This suggest that the speaker perceives himself as the type of hero that boys in the 60's would aspire to be due to the popular game of 'cowboys and Indians'. However the fact that this game is not as popular anymore shows the speakers outdated perception of themselves. 
3.) "Try me" 
  • This line conveys the speakers arrogance as he is challenging anyone that argues to have  a better childhood that he had, the imperatives of "try" further highlights this egotism as he believes he was the best at everything. 
4.) "The white sleeve of my shirt saluted" 
  • This portrays the speaker as heavily accomplished both socially and academically. The lexical choice "saluted" has military connotations which could imply that as a boy he felt as if he had a purpose that he has perhaps lost now. 
  • It also demonstrates that the speaker takes pride in their appearance due to the "white" shirt as they felt good about themselves as a child, however now this pride may have dissipated. 
5.) "No snags"
  • Here this phrase depicts the speakers skill during the quiz as they were able to win with flying colours and "no snags", it also depicts that he had a smooth childhood and his social and academic achievements came around with "no snags".
  • It is ironic that Duffy uses "no snags" as snags refer to getting caught in something and it is very clear here that the speaker is immensely caught amongst their childhood.
Links to Other poems 
  • Good Teachers= Both speakers portray different representations of childhood, in Captain the speaker rejoices about their education as the best years of their life wheres the speaker in Good teachers resents their childhood and regrets their educational experience.
  • The Cliche Kid= Both have a distorted memory of their childhood, Cliche kid subverts stereotypical gender roles through disillusionment whereas the speaker in Captain has a positive representation of their childhood which may in fact be false.  
  • First Love= Both speakers are somewhat stuck in their past memories as the nostalgia of their past is better than the present. 

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