Question about this poem?
Have a question about this poem?
Have a specific question about this poem?
Have a specific question about this poem?
Have a specific question about this poem?
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
A LitCharts expert can help.
Ask us
Ask us
Ask a question
Ask a question
Ask a question
The Full Text of “Death of a Teacher”
The Full Text of “Death of a Teacher”
-
“Death of a Teacher” Introduction
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” Summary
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” Themes
-
The Power of Poetry and Education
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 5-18
-
Death, Loss, and Memory
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-18
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Death of a Teacher”
-
Lines 1-4
The big trees ...
... You died yesterday. -
Lines 5-8
When I heard ...
... poem by Yeats -
Lines 9-12
to the bored ...
... on the air. -
Lines 12-14
We were truly ...
... lines from Keats. -
Lines 14-17
Teaching ...
... for life. -
Lines 17-18
Under the gambling ...
... to be turned.
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” Symbols
-
The Trees and Leaves
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “The big trees outside are into their poker game again, / shuffling and dealing, turning, folding, their leaves / drifting down to the lawn, floating away, ace high, / on a breeze.”
- Line 17: “Under the gambling trees,”
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “The big trees outside are into their poker game again, / shuffling and dealing, turning, folding, their leaves / drifting down to the lawn, floating away, ace high, / on a breeze.”
- Lines 9-10: “my heart stumbled and blushed / as it fell in love with the words”
- Line 17: “Under the gambling trees,”
-
Pun
Where pun appears in the poem:- Lines 12-13: “We were truly there, / present, Miss,”
-
Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 2-4: “shuffling and dealing, turning, folding, their leaves / drifting down to the lawn, floating away, ace high, / on a breeze.”
- Lines 11-12: “heard the bird / in the oak outside scribble itself on the air.”
- Lines 13-14: “the smoke from your black cigarette / braided itself with lines from Keats.”
- Lines 17-18: “the gold light thins and burns, / the edge of a page of a book,”
-
Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “The big trees outside are into their poker game again, / shuffling and dealing, turning, folding, their leaves / drifting down to the lawn, floating away, ace high, / on a breeze. You died yesterday.”
- Lines 8-10: “reading a poem by Yeats / to the bored girls, except my heart stumbled and blushed / as it fell in love with the words”
-
Apostrophe
Where apostrophe appears in the poem:- Line 4: “You died yesterday.”
- Lines 7-8: “You sat on your desk, / swinging your legs, reading a poem by Yeats”
- Lines 12-14: “We were truly there, / present, Miss, or later the smoke from your black cigarette / braided itself with lines from Keats.”
- Lines 16-17: “the lessons, just as you said, / for life.”
-
Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1
- Line 2
- Line 3
- Line 4
- Line 5
- Line 6
- Line 7
- Line 8
- Line 9
- Line 10
- Line 11
- Line 12
- Line 13
- Line 14
- Line 15
- Line 16
- Line 17
- Line 18
-
Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 3: “drifting down”
- Line 4: “You,” “yesterday”
- Line 5: “heard,” “hour – home,” “last”
- Line 6: “late”
- Line 7: “three,” “thirteen”
- Line 10: “with,” “words”
- Line 11: “hands, heard”
- Line 13: “smoke,” “cigarette”
- Lines 15-16: “lists / lovely”
- Line 16: “learning,” “lessons”
- Line 17: “life,” “gambling,” “gold,” “burns”
- Line 18: “page,” “book,” “precious”
-
Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “dealing,” “leaves”
- Line 3: “away, ace”
- Line 6: “my eyes”
- Line 7: “three,” “back,” “thirteen,” “sat”
- Line 9: “stumbled,” “blushed”
- Line 10: “love”
- Line 11: “heard,” “bird”
- Line 12: “scribble itself,” “air,” “there”
- Line 14: “Keats. Teaching”
- Line 16: “lovely,” “tongue”
- Line 18: “page,” “waiting”
-
Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 7: “sat,” “desk”
- Line 8: “swinging,” “Yeats”
- Line 9: “except,” “stumbled”
- Line 11: “scratched,” “desk”
- Line 12: “outside scribble itself”
- Line 13: “Miss,” “smoke,” “cigarette”
- Line 14: “itself,” “Keats”
- Line 15: “endless,” “spells,” “lists”
- Line 16: “lessons,” “just,” “said”
-
Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “leaves / drifting”
- Lines 8-9: “Yeats / to”
- Lines 9-10: “blushed / as”
- Lines 10-11: “tree / in”
- Lines 11-12: “bird / in”
- Lines 13-14: “cigarette / braided”
- Lines 14-15: “Teaching / is”
- Lines 15-16: “lists / lovely”
-
Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 2: “dealing, turning,” “, folding,” “, their”
- Line 3: “lawn, floating,” “away, ace”
- Line 4: “breeze. You”
- Line 5: “hour – home,” “time, last”
- Line 6: “afternoon – I,” “eyes. English,” “, of”
- Line 7: “back, and,” “thirteen. You”
- Line 8: “legs, reading”
- Line 9: “girls, except”
- Line 11: “hands, heard”
- Line 12: “air. We”
- Line 13: “present, Miss,” “, or”
- Line 14: “Keats. Teaching”
- Line 15: “love; the,” “heart, spells,” “, the”
- Line 16: “tongue, the,” “lessons, just”
- Line 17: “life. Under,” “trees, the”
- Line 18: “book, precious,” “, waiting”
-
Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 8: “reading a poem by Yeats”
- Line 14: “lines from Keats”
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” 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.
- Shuffling
- Dealing
- Folding
- Ace High
- Yeats
- Oak
- Braided
- Keats
- Spells
-
(Location in poem: Line 2: “shuffling and dealing, turning, folding, their leaves”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Death of a Teacher”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” Speaker
-
-
“Death of a Teacher” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Death of a Teacher”
-
-
More “Death of a Teacher” Resources
-
External Resources
-
Duffy's Biography — For more information about Carol Ann Duffy, check out this brief overview of her life and work.
-
The Poker Turn — A brief explanation of what it means to "turn" in poker (a term the speaker uses in the poem's first stanza).
-
John Keats — A look at the life of John Keats—another famous poet that the speaker mentions in "Death of a Teacher."
-
Duffy on Poetry and Education — An interesting read on Carol Ann Duffy's attempt to get young people interested in poetry, including some background information about her own literary education.
-
William Butler Yeats — A short biography of William Butler Yeats, whom the speaker mentions in "Death of a Teacher."
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Ann Duffy
-
