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Written by Timothy Sexton. The construction of Betjemen’s “Slough” is remarkably conventional. The first three lines of each of verses consist of four iambs to create the basic rhyme pattern of AAAB. The repetitive rhyme which ends each of three first lines keeps the rhythm from lapsing into sing-song though considering the ironic ...
'Slough' opens with John Betjeman's well-known lines, invoking bombs to fall on the city, unfit for humans. The poem highlights the poet's intense dislike for Slough, once a war surplus dumpsite, then a factory site before WWII. The speaker's desire for the city's destruction, to be blown to 'smithereens,' is a recurring theme throughout the poem.
The poem is a testament to the face that a little irony—the poem is only forty very short lines long—can go a long way. How Topography Shapes a Population. Betjeman is famous for dealing with topographical matters in his poems, but in most of them he is far more likely to celebrate what he seems around him.
John Betjeman. Slough. Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough. It isn’t fit for humans now, There isn’t grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death! ...
Sir John Betjeman published his poem about Slough in 1937, when the town was becoming increasingly industrialised. Read the poem and see if you think it is still relevant today. ...
John Betjeman. Slough. Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough. It isn’t fit for humans now, There isn’t grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death! ...
Slough. Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough. It isn’t fit for humans now, There isn’t grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death! Come, bombs, and blow to smithereens. Those air-conditioned, bright canteens, Tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk, tinned beans. Tinned minds, tinned breath.
