Questions on "The Good Teachers" and "Mrs Tilscher"

“The Good Teachers” and “In Mrs Tilscher’s Class” by Carol Ann Duffy

1. Summarise the “story” of each verse in one sentence (ie. four sentences – one for each verse)

2. Compare the first line of each poem. Identify two things that are similar in terms of style? What effect is Duffy trying to produce with this style?

3. Who are the “virtuous women”? What is the tone of this phrase and how is it achieved (look at the rest of the sentence)? What does the tone tell us about the persona’s attitude to these women?

4. The second verse is devoted to Miss Pirie. Give two examples of how the persona tries to express the depth of her feeling towards Miss Pirie.

5. What clues are we given about Miss Pirie’s personality?

6. What can we say about the three teachers that are named in the third verse (besides what subject they teach)?

7. “Look” (verse 3). Discuss the effectiveness of this sentence.

8. Discuss the word choice “clean” and “qualified”.

9. What is the tone of the last verse (ie. how does the persona sound – you may need more than one adjective to describe the tone)? How is the tone achieved?

10. What are the similarities and the differences between the last verses of both Duffy poems?

11. Which poem do you prefer? Give a reason for your answer.