Stylistic Features of the Poem

‘Hunter Trials’ is a humorous poem written by renowned author John Betjemen. The poem captures the thoughts and feelings of a young girl who is competing in a gymkhana. The overall structure and vocabulary of the poem is uncomplicated and therefore adds interest and comedy to the text. The poem contains eight verses, each of which contain four lines. There is an apparent rhyming scheme of lines two and four, and one and three.

The poem is in first person and allows the writer to portray his ideas more clearly.

During the poem, John Betjemen stereotypes posh people and reflects on their accents and way of speech such as: ‘Do, lend her some bits, Mummy, do’. This therefore ties in with the subject and makes the poem humorous. The writer also includes several bizarre and unusual names such as ‘Geyser’ and ‘Blewitt’ These names are positioned at the end of the lines and makes the poem more humorous.

As well as that, the last verse finishes off the poem well.

The sentence: ‘And my silly old collar bone’s bust’ Represents the spoiled child that John tried to capture throughout this poem. Yet the main factor that contributes to the comedy of the poem is the sequence of the events. For instance, the idea of fishing down the horse’s throat with a spanner is in itself amusing. Overall, the poem uses several techniques and use of words to portray the bright and amusing side of a gymkhana.