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May 2, 2015 · by John Betjeman. 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.
"Slough" is a ten-stanza poem by Sir John Betjeman, first published in his 1937 collection Continual Dew. The British town of Slough was used as a dump for war surplus materials in the interwar years, and then abruptly became the home of 850 new factories just before World War II.
- Stanza One
- Stanza Two
- Stanza Three
- Stanza Four
- Stanza Five
- Stanza Six and Seven
- Stanza Eight
- Stanza Nine
- Stanza Ten
John Betjeman begins the poem by calling ‘bombs’ to ‘fall’ upon the city of Slough. The exclamative first line draws the reader’s attention, elevating the call to destruction. The hateful passion elicited by the toneof the poem begins right within this first sentence. Moreover, the oxymoronic ‘friendly bombs’ further the idea that Betjeman desires ...
The call to action of stanza one is replicated within the first line of this stanza. The caesura after the repeated ‘come,’ presents Betjeman’s voice in almost a tone of begging. There is nothing he desires more than the eradication of the city. This is further compounded through the use of ‘bombs and blow’, with the harsh plosive ‘b’ in these word...
This stanza begins with a similar sentiment to that of the first two, with Betjeman calling for the leveling of the city. The double use of ‘mess’ is interesting as the word is used in two different forms: verb and noun. The verb ‘mess up’ is a reflection of the bombing, calling for the destruction of the town. By describing the city itself as a ‘m...
Stanza four explores the ugliness of the people who live in the city. The ‘man’ has a ‘double chin’ and ‘repulsive skin’, focusing on physical aspects to demean. He also focuses on the hollow personalities of the people who live in Slough, always ‘cheat[ing’. Even the people who live within this city have become repulsive, reflecting their city thr...
This stanza focuses more on Betjeman’s anger. Each line adds another thing that Betjeman wants to do to the town. He focuses on the semanticsof destruction, ‘smash’ being repeated twice to elaborate on his own hate. Even on a micro-level, he wants the city to be destroyed, ‘desk’ by ‘desk’, ‘smashing’ and destroying everything.
These stanzas focus again on the people of Slough. Whereas earlier in the poem he characterized them as ugly, here he forgives them. He states that is it ‘not their fault’ that they were born here and thrust into these conditions. He takes pity on them for their unfortunate situation, saying that they can be ‘spare[d]’ when the city is bombed. The ...
Betjeman explores the lack of aspiration that the people of Slough have. The metaphorof ‘look up and see the stars’ can be interpreted as aiming for something higher in life. He implements a suggestion of beauty in these far-off stars, yet the people ‘daren’t’ look up and see them. They are grounded within the industrial town, living their lives in...
The people within stanza 9 are presented as ‘synthetic’ and false. Their pursuits are completely superficial, focusing on ‘hair’ and ‘nails’ with ‘care’. The disapproval of Betjeman is palpable, with him looking angrily at the people wasting their lives on trivial matters. The falseness of the ‘painting’ is a reflection of the people themselves, th...
The opening line of stanza 1 is echoed in the opening line of stanza 10. Betjeman’s concrete certainty that Slough should be ‘bomb[ed]’ is elevated through the repetition. He seeks to return to the pastoralgreen that once embodied the city. Instead of the sprawling industry and grey housing, he wants to reestablish the city as a green space. This i...
Betjeman's use of repetitive language and imagery reinforces the sense of stultifying conformity and banality that permeates Slough. The poem's powerful imagery of destruction and rebirth suggests a desire to cleanse the town of its artificiality and make way for something more authentic.
Slough Lyrics. 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...
John Betjeman. 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.
Slough. by John Betjeman. 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.
