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'John Betjeman's poetry both informs and amuses.' With reference to at least two of his poems show how accurate this statement is.





John Betjeman became poet laureate in 1972, and was well known for his appearances on television. One characteristic of Betjeman's poems is his use of satire. With his use of satire he communicates his views on themes such as hypocrisy and egotism in society.



In 'The Village Inn', Betjeman attacks the way that people try to recreate 'history' and and at the same time destroy it; and how businesses try to hide their real intentions from the public. The Public Relations Officer represents the brewery that is rebuilding 'The Bear' and it is through this character that Betjeman criticises them.



The first paragraph of the poem is a retrospective look at the way the PRO first introduces himself to the public. It depicts an idealistic, sentimental picture of the village inn: 'ancient, clean, and free from sin.'

Betjeman highlights how easily the PRO pulls the public into his creation by emphasising the lines:



'So spake the brewers P.R.O.,

A man who really ought to know,

For he is paid for doing so.'



with a rhyming triplet instead of a rhyming couplet. Betjeman stresses the PRO's contradictory character and adds some sarcasm when he says that the PRO 'kindly' gave him a 'free' colour booklet. Betjeman is also showing that the PRO constantly puts on a façade by saying that he was kind. The PRO wouldn't be expected to be mean which makes you realise that they are always extremely kind and friendly. One means the PRO uses to fool the public is to feed them a deluge of information. This way the public does not have a chance to respond to what they are being told and become overwhelmed with facts and figures. Betjeman recreates this by not using any stops...