Quote Bank

Quote	Explanation
"Counting bells knelling classes to a close."	The word 'knelling' suggests funeral bells, foreshadowing death. The waiting at school adds to the tension.
"I met my father crying— He had always taken funerals in his stride—"	Seeing his father cry is shocking for the speaker, as he had always been strong in the past.

| "The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram" | The baby's innocence contrasts with the grief around it, emphasising the difference in understanding death. | | "Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest, Away at school, as my mother held my hand" | The whispers and formalities show how grief is often expressed in routine, detached ways. |

| "Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside;" | 'Snowdrops' and 'candles' create a peaceful, almost religious image, softening the harsh reality of death. | | "Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple," | The 'poppy' symbolises remembrance and the fragility of life. 'Wearing' suggests the bruise could be removed, adding a sense of detachment. |

| "He lay in the four-foot box as in his cot." | Comparing the coffin to a cot highlights the child's innocence and makes the death even more tragic. | | "A four-foot box, a foot for every year." | The final line delivers the emotional impact of the child's death with stark simplicity, reinforcing the smallness of the coffin and his young age. |