|
Comment 5 of 5, added on April 2nd, 2008 at 4:31 AM.
Myfanwy was his childhood nanny, Emma!
posy from United Kingdom
Comment 4 of 5, added on May 25th, 2006 at 10:41 PM.
Kind o'er the kinderbank leans my Myfanwy....what is or was a kinderbank?
Norman from Australia
Comment 3 of 5, added on May 20th, 2006 at 2:45 PM.
I love this piece, it shows his almost unique ability in writing in cinemascope, moving from her childhood to her life as a mother in seamless fashion. Myfanwy is rather feminine by his tastes with her "soap scented fingers" though he does say she is a tom boy. I think she is the embodiment of the very sensible, pretty but practical middle-upper class lady that Betjeman, and I adore. The outdoor, sporty girl but still tender enough to read Hans Christian Andersen. A delightful love poem that leaves a lot to the reader's thought.
Dan from United Kingdom
Comment 2 of 5, added on January 27th, 2006 at 11:49 AM.
This poem is quite an innocent poem, I think it shows Betjeman's fantasies about strong domineering women, I see what Tony is saying about the bicycle, but i think that the poem is quite childish. It is writen in the first person, I think Betjeman has made up an imagery character. I also think that Myfanwy is much older that the other person, so perhaps Betjeman has a crush on her, but she doesn't know who he is?
Emma from United Kingdom
Comment 1 of 5, added on September 3rd, 2005 at 4:09 PM.
Wonderful poem...Betjeman captures that lost aura of post-war home-counties upper middle class privilege. Always reminds me of south-west London - round about Putney Common or Barnes. Definite hint of eroticism - "fortunate bicycle"...recommend the song version by David Essex: the tune fits the lyric perfectly, an aching longing for a disappeared past.
Tony Griffin from United Kingdom
|
Copyright © 2003-2008 Gunnar Bengtsson, Poetry Connection. All Rights Reserved.
Myfanwy was his childhood nanny, Emma!
posy from United Kingdom