“Education for Leisure” was written in 1985 by the British poet Carol Ann Duffy. It depicts the inner life of a disturbed teenager as he tortures and kills animals while proclaiming his genius. This twisted “education for leisure” ultimately culminates in the teenager stealing a kitchen knife and going on a violent rampage. Duffy wrote the poem as a social commentary while teaching in a school in London’s East End, and its subject matter has long been controversial. In 2008, protestors successfully lobbied to have the poem removed from a school anthology in the United Kingdom, although some schools have continued to teach the poem.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “Education For Leisure”
The Full Text of “Education For Leisure”
-
“Education For Leisure” Summary
-
-
“Education For Leisure” Themes
-
Alienation vs. Desire for Connection
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3
- Line 8
- Lines 9-12
- Lines 15-16
- Lines 17-19
- Line 20
-
The Failures of Education
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Line 5
- Lines 6-7
- Lines 9-10
- Line 11
- Lines 11-12
- Line 13
- Line 14
- Line 17
-
The Banality of Evil
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Line 1
- Lines 3-4
- Line 10
- Lines 11-12
- Lines 15-16
- Line 19
- Line 20
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Education For Leisure”
-
Lines 1-3
Today I am ...
... to play God. -
Lines 3-4
It is an ...
... in the streets. -
Lines 5-7
I squash a ...
... in another language. -
Lines 8-10
I breathe out ...
... the chance. -
Lines 10-12
But today I ...
... has hidden itself. -
Lines 13-14
I pour the ...
... budgie is panicking. -
Lines 15-16
Once a fortnight, ...
... appreciate my autograph. -
Lines 17-19
There is nothing ...
... cuts me off. -
Lines 19-20
I get our ...
... touch your arm.
-
-
“Education For Leisure” Symbols
-
The Fly
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 5: “I squash a fly against the window with my thumb.”
- Lines 6-7: “We did that at school. Shakespeare. It was in / another language and now the fly is in another language.”
-
The Bread-Knife
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 19: “I get our bread-knife and go out.”
-
-
“Education For Leisure” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
End-Stopped Line
Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Anything.”
- Line 3: “day,”
- Line 4: “streets.”
- Line 5: “thumb.”
- Line 7: “language.”
- Line 8: “name.”
- Line 10: “world.”
- Line 12: “itself.”
- Line 13: “chain.”
- Line 14: “panicking.”
- Line 16: “autograph.”
- Line 18: “superstar.”
- Line 19: “out.”
- Line 20: “arm.”
-
Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “today / I am”
- Lines 6-7: “in / another”
- Lines 9-10: “half / the”
- Lines 11-12: “cat / knows”
- Lines 15-16: “town / for”
- Lines 17-18: “radio / and”
-
Pathetic Fallacy
Where pathetic fallacy appears in the poem:- Lines 3-4: “It is an ordinary day, / a sort of grey with boredom stirring in the streets.”
- Line 20: “The pavements glitter suddenly.”
-
Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 6-7: “We did that at school. Shakespeare. It was in / another language and now the fly is in another language.”
- Line 14: “I see that it is good.”
-
Anthropomorphism
Where anthropomorphism appears in the poem:- Lines 11-12: “The cat avoids me. The cat / knows I am a genius, and has hidden itself.”
- Line 14: “The budgie is panicking.”
-
Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “something. Anything.”
- Line 3: “God. It”
- Line 6: “school. Shakespeare.,” “ It”
- Line 9: “genius. I,” “all, with”
- Line 10: “chance. But”
- Line 11: “world. The”
- Line 12: “genius, and”
- Line 13: “bog. I”
- Line 14: “good. The”
- Line 15: “fortnight, I”
- Line 16: “on. They”
- Line 17: “kill. I”
- Line 19: “off. I”
- Line 20: “suddenly. I”
-
Colloquialism
Where colloquialism appears in the poem:- Line 3: “play God”
- Lines 9-10: “with half / the chance”
- Line 13: “the bog”
- Line 14: “budgie”
- Line 16: “signing on”
- Line 18: “superstar.”
- Line 19: “cuts me off”
-
Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 6-7: “It was in / another language and now the fly is in another language.”
- Line 8: “I breathe out talent on the glass to write my name.”
- Line 20: “The pavements glitter suddenly.”
-
Where appears in the poem:
- Line 1: “Today I am going to”
- Lines 2-3: “today / I am going to”
- Lines 6-7: “in / another language”
- Line 7: “in another language”
- Line 9: “I am a genius”
- Line 11: “The cat,” “The cat”
- Line 12: “I am a genius”
-
-
“Education For Leisure” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Shakespeare
- Bog
- Budgie
- Fortnight
- Signing on
- Pavements
-
(Location in poem: Line 6: “Shakespeare”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Education For Leisure”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Education For Leisure” Speaker
-
-
“Education For Leisure” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Education For Leisure”
-
-
More “Education For Leisure” Resources
-
External Resources
-
More About the Poem — From the BBC, helpful analysis and context for Duffy's poem, including a performance of the poem and a list of writing prompt ideas.
-
Additional Annotations — The text of the poem with helpful crowd-sourced annotations, from the lyric analysis encyclopedia Genius.
-
Curriculum Controversy — Read an op-ed from an English teacher in response to the controversial ban of the poem from the school curriculum in 2008.
-
The Ban of "Education for Leisure" — Read a summary of the original controversy around the banning of the poem in 2008.
-
A Live Reading — Watch a clip of the poem performed by actor Russell Tovey.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
