Analysis Of You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly by A.Fanthorpe

Analysis Of You Will Be Hearing From Us Shortly by A.Fanthorpe


Overview/Context


Fanthorpe was an active feminist poet who wrote a lot of poems questioning authority and other people's compassion towards their peers. This particular poem exposes the desire that exists in our society to erase the line between ones professional life and their personal life. She actively expresses her distaste at how people can overlook her professional life purely based on personal factors, in this case the way they disagree with her personal choices. Although it is not clear, the most likely protagonist of this poem is probably Fanthorpe herself, she portrays herself as a woman of the 20th century who is more ambitious in her professional life than to sit at home and do housework, instead she tries to access the world of work consequently finding the point of entry more difficult than she previously envisioned. The poem is written in an interview format and tries to portray the thought process that occurs in a wholly negative light, instead of focusing on any positives the interviewer jumps straight in to try and trip her up. It focuses on the psychological domination performed by people instigated in positions of power to make people lower in the hierarchy feel worse, thus serving to boost their own self-esteem. Even the title highlights what she feels are the flaws in modern society, using the word "shortly" highlights the time driven ruthlessly efficient society we currently live in, and one which Fanthorpe detests.


Analytical Breakdown: The First Stanza. 

 "You feel adequate to the demands of this position?
 What qualities do you feel you
 Personally have to offer? 

Ah."


The first verse is relatively short compared to the rest of the poem, and sets the scene for the reader. It establishes the interviewer as an implausibly harsh and pompous analyser of her CV. It is written in dialogue format, much like the rest of the poem, and focuses on the standard interviewing procedure. The questions such as "What qualities do you feel you/Personally have to offer?" are very similar to questions you may get in a real interview. However, the way it is laid out on the page places incredible emphasis on the words "Personally", perhaps undermining her thread of argument. When read aloud, because of the emphasis on "Personally" it feels like the interviewer is launching an attack on the persona's own view of themselves rather than focusing on the qualities that they could perhaps bring to the job. After each stanza there is a small input from the interviewer that interacts with the interviewee, as throughout the poem we are presented with a lack of response. In this verse, the "Ah." is incredibly scathing and serves to cut into any response she could hope to offer.


Analytical Breakdown: The Second Stanza


"Let us consider your application form.

 Your qualifications, though impressive, are
 Not, we must admit, precisely what
 We had in mind. Would you care
 To defend their relevance?
                                        Indeed."

In this verse there is more of a feel that they are judging her not by the content of her character or by her set of qualifications, but more by how able she is to defend herself. In the first line they "consider" her application, although in reality they may have already dismissed her on the grounds of her sex. They place her immediately on the back foot by asking her to "defend" her qualifications. This is almost like battle imagery of her having to defend herself from an onslaught of attack from potential employers. Again the stanza ends with a manipulative phrase, almost making her agree with them about her inferiority. 


Analytical Breakdown: The Third Stanza


" Now your age. Perhaps you feel able

 To make your own comment about that,
 Too? We are conscious ourselves
 Of the need for a candidate with precisely
 The right degree of immaturity.
                                        So glad we agree."

In the third stanza there's an excellent example of the negativity that runs throughout the poem, as they focus on her lack of immaturity, rather than trying to find someone with levels of maturity. The comment here is "so glad we agree", again the interviewer is manipulating the interviewee to agree with their views on how they are inadequate for the job. 

Analytical Breakdown: The Fourth Stanza

 "And now a delicate matter: your looks.
 You do appreciate this work involves
 Contact with the actual public? Might they,
 Perhaps, find your appearance
 Disturbing?
                                        Quite so."

In this stanza they concentrate on the superficial image of work. They want to know whether she even realises that she'd have to appeal to the outside world as well as her employers. They concentrate on the fact that she will need to be seen by "the actual public?" this hurtful accusation targets her supposed naivety for even applying for a job. 

Analytical Breakdown: Final Stanza's 

 "And your accent. That is the way
 You have always spoken, is it? What
 Of your education? We mean, of course,
 Where were you educated?
                                And how
 Much of a handicap is that to you,
 Would you say?

                Married, children,
 We see. The usual dubious
 Desire to perpetuate what had better
 Not have happened at all. We do not
 Ask what domestic desires shimmer
 Behind that vaguely unsuitable address.

 And you were born--?
                                        Yes. Pity.

 So glad we agree."

The last two Stanza's seem to have been merged together to form a longer more indistinguishable stanza. Something that the poet was particularly outspoken about was how education should not be outdated. For instance, an education from 1961 is just as good as one from 2001, and it is this that's targeted in the first part of the verse.    This explains how they can think that her education is a handicap rather than a boost to her application. Later on in the same verse, the interviewer appears to judge her based on her socio-economic class and the postcode that she in defined by. They also consider things such as her personal life and whether she's married and has children, which perhaps are questions that would not be asked to a male interviewee, highlighting the underlying theme of sexism throughout the poem. By the end of the poem the pressure of the situation that the interviewer faces goes as far as to make her regret even applying for a job. The poem itself shouldn't be taken too literally as the poet isn't directly criticising the world of interviews, but more societies views on work, education and women's roles within everyday life. Fanthorpe presents herself as a woman who is prepared to stand up and be counted, and uses this poem to portray the criticism she receives.