Caroline's County Life

1. ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Choose a task Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity E Activity F Activity G

2. Activity A ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu Which three events in Caroline’s story do you think are the most important? Which parts of her life do we know little about? 1 Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Write down Caroline’s life story in a short paragraph. How do you react to her story? Click here to view next stanzas

3. Activity A ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu Which three events in Caroline’s story do you think are the most important? Which parts of her life do we know little about? 2 Twice she fell off her bar-stool in The Flag. Her voice became more hectoring, a bray, while she grew stout, eccentric, sour – milk dribbling away to rennet i through a sieve. The barman called her ‘Margaret Rutherford’ behind her back. She started drinking in her room. No biography can pinpoint where a life i first started to go wrong – where her naïve, excited arrivisme was poisoned, or how the rural gentry still close ranks. All that’s clear is that she reached i a menopause of misery one mild July night with a fog of drizzle in the air. But once she’d counted all fifty-odd white pills into her mouth and gulped them down i with swigs of gin, what shocked the coroner and press and public was how she lay a full month in her dressing-gown till someone shouldered down the door.1 Write down Caroline’s life story in a short paragraph. How do you react to her story? Click here to return to the beginning of the poem

4. Activity B ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu The poem starts with Caroline’s marriage. What impressions do you get of her from these lines? 1 Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Click to highlight words in red. How does Caroline choose her husband-to-be? What impressions of her is the poet trying to create here?

5. Activity C ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu The poem starts with Caroline’s marriage. What impressions do you get of her from these lines? 1 Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Click to highlight words in red. What effect does the poet create here?

6. Activity D ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu Compare the prose version of these lines with the poet’s version. What effects are created by the poet’s use of form here? 1 She was a January bride, aflush with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, and was a prig at twelve. Click to highlight words in red. Read each version aloud. What differences can you hear and what effect do they have? She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve.. She was a January bride, aflush with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve.. Why are these sentences split between lines/stanzas?

7. Activity E ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu What impressions do you get of Caroline after her marriage fails? 1 Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, i and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Even, I think, before she saw the house, the wall to the gate he turned in at told her this was the man she should marry. An estate-wall – dentilated, buttressed i and stepped to the land’s long downslope – it was in that brick which is the pale, crumbling red of old money. She was a January bride, aflush i with her own good looks and the reception’s swank. The honeymoon was on Mustique. When the marriage broke she stayed near – as failed students do i in bed-sits in university towns, wistful for status, a lost social rung. There was a son. But he came home each term taller in a badged blazer of flecked grey flannel, and was a prig at twelve. Occasionally she slept with an acquaintance of her ex-husband’s; one night his cousin; and once with the Lord Lieutenant of the county. Click to highlight words in red. Why does the poet use these images? How are Caroline’s relationships described here?

8. Activity F ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu How does the poet begin to change our perceptions of Caroline in the last five stanzas of the poem? 2 Twice she fell off her bar-stool in The Flag. Her voice became more hectoring, a bray, while she grew stout, eccentric, sour – milk dribbling away to rennet i through a sieve. The barman called her ‘Margaret Rutherford’ behind her back. She started drinking in her room. No biography can pinpoint where a life i first started to go wrong – where her naïve, excited arrivisme was poisoned, or how the rural gentry still close ranks. All that’s clear is that she reached i a menopause of misery one mild July night with a fog of drizzle in the air. But once she’d counted all fifty-odd white pills into her mouth and gulped them down i with swigs of gin, what shocked the coroner and press and public was how she lay a full month in her dressing-gown till someone shouldered down the door.1 Click to show highlighted sections in blue.What effect does the image have? Click to show highlighted sections in green.How does the poet begin to change our minds about Caroline here? Click to show highlighted sections in red.What impressions do these lines create?

9. Activity G ‘Caroline’: A County Life – by Duncan Bush Menu How does the poet create sympathy for Caroline at the end of the poem? 2 Twice she fell off her bar-stool in The Flag. Her voice became more hectoring, a bray, while she grew stout, eccentric, sour – milk dribbling away to rennet i through a sieve. The barman called her ‘Margaret Rutherford’ behind her back. She started drinking in her room. No biography can pinpoint where a life i first started to go wrong – where her naïve, excited arrivisme was poisoned, or how the rural gentry still close ranks. All that’s clear is that she reached i a menopause of misery one mild July night with a fog of drizzle in the air. But once she’d counted all fifty-odd white pills into her mouth and gulped them down i with swigs of gin, what shocked the coroner and press and public was how she lay a full month in her dressing-gown till someone shouldered down the door.1 Twice she fell off her bar-stool in The Flag. Her voice became more hectoring, a bray, while she grew stout, eccentric, sour – milk dribbling away to rennet i through a sieve. The barman called her ‘Margaret Rutherford’ behind her back. She started drinking in her room. No biography can pinpoint where a life i first started to go wrong – where her naïve, excited arrivisme was poisoned, or how the rural gentry still close ranks. All that’s clear is that she reached i a menopause of misery one mild July night with a fog of drizzle in the air. But once she’d counted all fifty-odd white pills into her mouth and gulped them down i with swigs of gin, what shocked the coroner and press and public was how she lay a full month in her dressing-gown till someone shouldered down the door.1 . Did you expect Caroline’s suicide? Click to highlight words in red. What do these phrases suggest about her frame of mind at this point? How do you react to her death?