The Significance of the Past in Gillian Clarke's "Lunchtime Lecture" Maanav Tomar 12th Grade

Gillian Clarke is well known for incorporating her own experiences into her poems. One such poem is “Lunchtime Lecture”, a poem that is based upon Clarke’s experiences at an archaeological museum. Clarke, through her critical choice of language and imagery, conveys the significance of those who have gone before us, conveyed by the persona’s interest in the female skeleton.

At first, the skeleton is presented dispassionately. The first stanza begins in media res, “And this from”. This highlights that the Lunchtime Lecture has already begun and the speaker is in the middle of a long discussion. The speaker’s presentation of the object is void of emotion suggesting that the speaker is disinterested in the topic of the lecture. He lists the attributes of the woman’s remains by referring to the skeleton as, “A female, aged about twenty-two”, this links the speaker’s dispassion to the woman’s remains being presented. In a museum, death is not of importance as it holds no significance for the skeletons or surrounding artefacts; the absence of the fear of death and the sadness that comes with it strips the objects in a museum of their link to humanity. The idea of the lecture separating the woman’s remains from humanity is reinforced...