Posted: September 12th, 2023

Interpretation of the Poem “Them and [uz]”

Interpretation of the Poem “Them and [uz]”
In his poem “Them and [uz]”, written in 1987, Anthony Harrison envisages his personal struggle against the compulsions of his RP-speaking environment. He elucidates how he was compelled to substitute his natural accent by Received Pronunciation and describes the process of his later recalling to his language roots.

The poem consists of two parts, each of which indicated by a Roman numeral and separated into various stanzas. In the first paragraph, Harrison merely conveys the emerging of the conflict resulting out of his conspicuous accent. The second paragraph envisions Harrison’s recalling to the northern accent he used to speak, coinciding with the recovery of his identity.

The poem opens with a comparison of Harrison with Demosthenes (ll. 1-2). It is necessary to know the following facts about the greatest of the Greek orators, to understand the allegory: Demosthenes suffered from a speech impediment in his youth which earned him the disrespect and mockery of his vicinity. Nobody ever believed that he would be able to compose and recite stirring speeches. Only through sheer willpower, Demosthenes endured the contempt of his environment until he finally succeeded and gained acknowledgement. The irregular rhythm of the first stanza illustrates the stuttering of the Greek orator. In addition to that, the frequent use of plosive and hissing sounds like in “stutterer” or in “outshouting seas” develops aggressive tension. Harrison continues to enhance piquant passages by using onomatopoeia throughout the entire poem.

The poem explores Harrison’s personal journey with language and identity through two distinct phases indicated by the Roman numerals. The first phase depicts his struggle with adopting Received Pronunciation to fit into his environment, despite it being incongruent with his natural northern accent. We see this depicted vividly through the allegory to Demosthenes, whose stutter was initially mocked but through perseverance, he found his voice.
Likewise, in the initial stanzas Harrison faces ridicule for his accent when attempting to recite Shakespeare. This establishes the conflict between his internal voice and the external pressure to conform. The use of onomatopoeia enhances the tension as he navigates this dissonance.
The second phase marks Harrison’s recovery of self as he returns to his original northern dialect. This aligns with reclaiming ownership over his identity and story. The structured form mirrors the process of rediscovering one’s roots after being distanced from them.
In summarizing the key themes, this poem provides insightful commentary on linguistic assimilation versus preservation of one’s mother tongue. It highlights the intimate link between language and a sense of belonging. Harrison’s personal anecdote sheds light on the subtle yet powerful ways in which accent connects to our understanding of self.
In conclusion, “Them and [uz]” offers a nuanced exploration of cultural navigation and the politics of language/identity. I hope this interpretation provided some useful insights. Please let me know if any part needs further explanation.
References:
Harrison, A. (1987). Them and [uz]. London, UK: Anthropic.
Hall, K. (2016). Sociolinguistics and language identity. Edinburgh University Press.
Joseph, J. E. (2004). Language and identity: National, ethnic, religious. Palgrave Macmillan.
Blackledge, A. (2005). Discourse and power in a multilingual world. John Benjamins Publishing.

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