Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level – Excellence in English Language and Literature
Overview
The poem opens with a straightforward, no-nonsense declaration. The workers’ job is simple. They merely have to fi nd the post offi ce and, in the minimum amount of time, arrange for its closure. The tone here is clinical and rational. The speaker sees no need for this task to be complicated. He expects his workers to care as little as he does. The offhand way in which he dismisses ‘the few antiques’ that may be worth valuing shows the lack of regard he has for the post offi ces. The workers may ‘Glance at the books’ and ‘Perhaps’ fi ll out a few forms, but it is obvious that the closure of the post offi ce is a foregone conclusion and this visit merely a necessary formality to tidy up loose ends. There is no mention in the fi rst eight lines of any of the postmasters or postmistresses, which makes the task of closing the offi ces seem impersonal and cold.
The word ‘But’ at the start of the ninth line signals a slight change in tone. Now the speaker is exasperated and irritated by the ability of ‘these aul’ ones’ to be ‘too compelling’ and to add an element of humanity to the job by befriending – to a certain extent – the ‘lads’ who are sent to put them out of a job.
Some of the lads ‘accept a drink’ or have something to eat in the homes of those they are meant to be making redundant. The speaker says that one ‘Polish guy’ even went so far as to go for a spin in the van with one old lady and was shown ‘a ball alley’. This is an amusing image, although the speaker clearly does not see any humour in it.
The speaker explains in harshly practical tones that there is no place for such sentimentality in this job. Now he includes the reader by switching to the second person singular: ‘You understand’. He also refers to himself in the fi rst person: ‘I fi nd’. It is interesting that this direct address to the reader and reference to himself is used in the section of the poem in
