Writing in the style of Kate Tempest

Clive’s 16,
Thrown into to this labyrinth of life,
A modern day Theseus.
But there’s no thread for him,
To follow.
No Ariadne waiting at the end.
Clive saw every adult,
Every teacher,
As a Minotaur.
He had to fight them.
Had to return home with his white sail aloft.
Every day was a battle of strength.
But this life
It ain’t fair.


For Clive, there’s no heroes.
Only monsters to fight.
He knows he ain’t no angel
But he has to do his part.
His anger his sword and shield.
Burning hot within.
His hoodie is his armour,
No one really sees ‘him.’


This world that fathered him,
And fathered us all,
Has done nothing
But devour us.
Like Kronos.
Clive’s got no hope.
His nicked blade won’t set him free,
No Zeus to cut him out.

Brand New Ancients Close Analysis Commentary

Extract Chosen - Page 26 - 28 (Simon Cowell parody scene)

In the 2013 epic narrative poem 'Brand New Ancients', Kate Tempest tells the story of 'everyday people', but does so whilst incorporating aspects of Ancient Greek mythology, in an attempt to 'argue for a new mythology'. Tempest believes that we have lost touch with our connection to deity that we had in the past, yet she believes that we are all Gods in our own right, and are 'capable of amazing and terrible things'.
The story follows the lives of two families over the period of a lifetime. Throughout the course of the plot, the two families stories intertwine and connect, leading to the climax of the story where they finally come together.

In my chosen extract, we see Tempest comment on, and parody, the 'fame' culture of modern society, and how all anyone seems to want is to become 'famous', and that the only way to achieve true happiness is to do so. Just before this extract we see Tommy finally achieve his dream of becoming a published comic book artist, this section follows to compare Tommy's relative success to the droves of others in society who strive for success, but fall short.

This is one of the sections of the poem that does not fit into the character-driven narrative of the rest of the poem, it instead focuses on the wider aspects of modern human society as a whole, and contains a 'chorus' section, as do the other similar parts of the text. ("The gods are...")
Tempest's parody of this fame-obsessed culture serves as a wake up call, or warning that we need to stop worshiping these 'false idols', as she calls them.

Due to the broader nature of this extract, there is no specific focus on any one of the main characters from the text, however, one character mentioned prominently, and only in this section, is the character referred to as 'Simon' as well as 'the new Dionysus', an obvious parody of talent show judge Simon Cowell. Dionysus is most famous for being the God of Grapes and Wine, but this comparison comes from his position as the God of Theatre and Ritual Madness. The 'theatre' of his character represents the talent shows presented and judged by 'Simon', and the 'madness' is an allusion to the intense, and dangerous, obsession with these contests in the real world.

Unlike in the rest of the poem, there is no concrete setting for this section of the piece, as it is more of a social commentary than an individually-focused character section.  When the section turns to focus on the 'New Dionysus' we see him in his dressing room, preparing to go out on stage for the show.

The character does not speak in this extract, but Tempest represents him through his actions, and to an extent, his thoughts. First, we see him preparing in his dressing room for the show. Tempest says: 'The makeup girls hold their breath as they dream him into a perfect bronze.'
The word 'dream' used as it is here alludes to the fact that this character's appearance is nothing more than an illusion, yet it is something that people aspire, or 'dream' to achieve.
Tempest then goes on to describe him as 'the permatanned God of our age.'
A few stanzas later we see Tempest say: 'Now, watch him shaking his head, he is furious'. This links to the anger that the Gods of classical mythology, which often had devastating consequences for the mortals whom incurred their wrath.
It is noteworthy that Dionysus was also the God who bestowed upon Midas the 'Midas Touch', which turned everything to gold, a 'gift' Midas soon came to regret. This links back to the text, where Tempest refers to the aspirations of the public, who want to be 'beautiful, ageless... with airbrushed bodies that shine golden.' This could represent the fact that, thought this is what the people might think they want, it ultimately serves only as a curse.

Tempest finishes this extract with: 'He took the eyes from our heads and blamed us for our blindness.'
This is a clear critique of the 'fame' culture that exists. It seems to say that people like Simon and his 'talent' shows strip the world of actual, true talent and then blame the people for the lack of talent presented before him.

Throughout this section, Kate Tempest uses many poetic techniques to enhance the effect and meaning of the section.

The section opens with the line: 'Pan out, soft focus; reveal the subtext:'
This phrase uses imagery of camera movement to alter the perception of the reader. This camera-linked terminology treats the entire poem as if it were a TV show or movie filming. This, when taken into consideration with the section that follows, could be seen as Tempest critiquing society as a whole, as though it has become one giant media, fame-obsessed civilization.
This image takes a morbid turn when the image to which the proverbial camera is panning is revealed.
Tempest writes: 'behind the couple striving on there is more, the bloodspecked sword in the sand, the bodies scattered around like sun bathers... the tattoos across their hearts read 'when will I be famous?'
The image of the 'bloodspecked sword' could be a representation of the fame and fortune that so many strive to achieve, with the 'bodies scattered around' representing those who have tried so hard to achieve fame, but are only to fall, even when getting so close. These people are so driven to realise this ideal that their hearts themselves are tattooed across 'When will I be famous?'

Writing in the Style of Kate Tempest

Writing in the style of Kate Tempest

Clive’s 16,

Thrown into to this labyrinth of life,

A modern day Theseus.

But there’s no thread for them,

To follow.

No Ariadne waiting at the end.

Clive saw every adult,

Every teacher,

As a Minotaur.

He had to fight them.

Had to return home with his white sail aloft.

Every day was a battle of strength.

But this life

It ain’t fair.

For Clive, there’s no heroes.

Only monsters to fight.

He knows he ain’t no angel

But he has to do his part.

His anger his sword and shield.

Burning hot within.

His hoodie is his armour,

No one really sees ‘him.’

This world that fathered him,

And fathered us all,

Has done nothing

But devour us.

Like Kronos.

Clive’s got no hope.

His nicked blade won’t set him free,

No Zeus to cut him out.

Dehumanisation Essay

Compare the ways the immigration process dehumanises people in ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ and ‘The Inheritance of Loss’.

In both of these texts, the process of immigration is seen to dehumanise those who pass through it. In ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ the process is relatively impersonal and detached, taking place in an American airport’s immigration department. Conversely , in ‘The Inheritance of Loss’, the manner in which the characters are dehumanised is on a much more raw and emotional level, as they apply for visas at the American Embassy in India. The way in which the character is treated in ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ is largely attributed to the setting and context of the novel. Set largely in post-9/11 America; a time where immigrants, particularly those from the middle east and Asia, were vilified due to the events of the World Trade Centre Attacks in 2001. In the novel, the writer tells the story in a first person narrative through two characters engaging in a monologue. These two characters, Changes and the American, are often viewed as representations of different ‘sides’ of the author, Mohsin Hamid.

The dehumanisation of immigrants in post-9/11 America is illustrated by Hamid in ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ through a 1^st person dramatic monologue, in which the character, upon entering America, is subject to immigration checks. The author uses the protagonist, Changez to show how the immigration process affected those who were foreign after 9/11. As Changez goes through immigration he is faced with a woman, whom Hamid describes as: “a solidly built woman with a pistol at her hip and a mastery of English inferior to mine”. The way the first person narrative is used to describe woman is a reflection of the character himself. Changez is certainly far better educated than this woman appears to be, but due the inherent unreliability of a first person narrative, we have no way of truly verifying this. Hamid then goes on to say that Changez: “attempted to disarm her with a smile.” The word ‘disarm’ is an interesting word choice, especially considering the fact that the officer was carrying a gun. It could be construed from this that the militaristic appearance of the women drew a similarly militaristic response out of the protagonist. However, this attempt at charming the character fails, and takes some inter-personal humanity out of the interaction. This could be viewed as the exchange that starts the process of dehumanising Changez. In the ensuing conversation, all attempts made by Changez to reinvigorate the conversation in one way or another are quashed by the cold detachment of the immigration officer, which has the effect of reducing Changez to less than equal, debatably less than human. However, it is not just Changez that is being dehumanised in this exchange. One could argue that, due to the constraints placed on her by her job and the recent events of 9/11, the immigration officer was being forced into acting in such a cold and impersonal manner, thus dehumanising her, in turn.

Hamid’s representation of the process of dehumanisation is at odds with that which is displayed in Desai’s ‘The Inheritance of Loss’. In Desai’s novel, the perspective is that of a 3^rd person narrative, told from the viewpoints of several different characters. This extract takes place at an American embassy in India, with many Indians waiting to apply for visas so they can legally enter the country. This novel is set in the late 1980’s, and despite the independence of India almost 40 years prior to this, the effects of the British colonialism were still being felt. As a result, it was next to impossible to qualify for a visa unless you were relatively wealthy, and had an assortment of valid documents to verify various things about you. In response to this, many people resorted to acquiring falsified documents such as birth certificates and vaccination records, as well as using their family to make it seem as if they had far more money than they actually did. However, this couldn’t really be said to dehumanise people. The dehumanisation truly begins when the office opens to visa applications. Knowing that the office will only take so many applicants in a day, there is a mad rush to be first in line. Desai uses many animalistic and inhuman terms to describe the actions taken by those who are rushing to be first in line. Desai describes their actions: “They knew what they should do. Stink and spit and scream and charge;” This representation of the visa applicants very literally dehumanises them, as opposed to the more subliminal form of dehumanisation displayed in 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'. This continues in much the same vein, with even more animalistic imagery and actions being described. "Young men mowing through, tossing aside toothless grannies, trampling babies underfoot." This shows the lengths to which this system has pushed people. It shows the utter lack of regard that these people have for human life and wellbeing, and how this fervour is attributed to the application process they have to go through.


Despite their differences, there are several notable similarities between the two texts in terms of how the immigration process is represented. One such similarity is the fact that in both texts, the American government is the involved power inflicting the process of dehumanisation on the immigrants. Another contributing factor shared between the two texts is the use of distance or impersonality by those in charge. In 'The Inheritance of Loss', Desai shows this distance in two ways. First by the announcement made from the "invisible loudspeaker". This 'invisibility' creates a sense of tension amongst the applicants, it also portrays the immigration officers as a sort of higher being, in an almost Godly sense. The other way in which this is carried out is by the separation of the immigration officers and the applicants by a glass window. This detachment makes it seem as though the officers are on the outside of a glass cage looking in on the 'animals' that the applicants have become.
In 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' this detachment comes in the form of the officer Changez encounters in the airport. Her uniform speech patterns detach her from any form of meaningful conversation with Changez on a human level, thus dehumanising him, albeit in a different way to the more prominent dehumanisation presented in 'The Inheritance of Loss'.