Generalitat de Catalunya Departament d’Ensenyament Escoles Oficials d’Idiomes

“I’VE GOT A COLD” by Roger McGough

Introduction

The main aim of presenting this text to language learners is for them to become familiar with poetry and, at the same time, reflect on the implied meanings of language in poems.

“I’ve got a cold” comes from a collection of poems for children, “ Pillow talk”, which paint whimsical pictures of everyday things. Though written for children, the poems are full of humorous puns and witty descriptions of rather ordinary situations.

“I’ve got a cold” is one of the many examples a teacher may use to introduce poetry in the language classrom. It describes the symptoms of an old person with a bad cold, so it can be easily linked to a unit about health and illnesses at an intermediate (3rd) or an upper intermediate (4 th ) level

Roger Mc Gough, one of Britain’s best loved poets, was born in 1937 in Litherland, to the north of . He was educated at the at a time when was the librarian there. He was awarded his O.B.E. for services to poetry in 1997 and a C.B.E. in June 2004. He was recently honoured with the Freedom of the City of Liverpool. He is an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University and an Honorary Professor at Thames Valley University. He has an MA from the University of Northampton and D.Litts from the universities of Hull, Liverpool & Roehampton.

His work has gained increasing popularity, especially from its widespread use in schools. A prolific writer, he has won several literary awards.

'His poetry is like a supermodel who can complete a Sudoku puzzle moments before swishing down the catwalk --- easy on the eye and smart as a whip.' Lorne Jackson, Birmingham Daily Post

'the patron saint of poetry'

http://www.uktouring.org.uk/rogermcgough/index.html

http://poemhunter.com/roger-mcgough/biography/

Materials elaborats pel grup de treball Brit-lit – Departament d’Ensenyament / British Council I’ve got a cold, Roger Mc Gough. Introduction