An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum (Critical Overview)

Critical Overview

There is not much written about Spender's work as a poet and even less about his individual poems. In fact, much of the critical response to Spender's poetry is negative or tepid at best in its praise. DavidR. Slavitt writes in Boulevard of attending a lecture given by Spender at Yale in 1955, stating, "He was also, I thought then and still think, a dismally bad poet." This is the familiar and resounding opinion of but one of Spender's critics. His greatest literary achievement is his autobiography, World within World. No matter how poorly received his poetry may have been by his contemporaries and critics, the bulk of what is written about Spender's life and, in particular, about his autobiography, is heavy with critical praise.

Written in 1951, World within World explores Spender's bisexual lifestyle. It is unusual in its frankness. Spender, who always went to bat for the oppressed and underprivileged, puts his own life and sexuality on the table, examining the civil and human hardships of a nonheterosexual person in the sexually repressed 1950s. Richard Freadman writes in The Ethics in Literature, "World within World is a powerful and nuanced call for renewal, a call which imagines some of the processes of renewal that ethical beings now need to undergo." Spender's autobiography as well as his poem "An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum" show his dedication to equality and understanding among humans. Although Spender may not be seen as one of the greatest English poets of the twentieth century, he is recognized as a humanist and a political activist with a keen eye for social commentary.

Compare & Contrast

• 1960s: Communist countries are considered the greatest threat to the United States and the free world, with Vietnam, Cuba, and the USSR at the helm.

  Today: Although Communist countries like Vietnam and China still exist, most are looked upon favorably as allies and trading partners. Now so-called rogue states, or regimes that sponsor terror or are thought to be developing nuclear weapons — such as Iran, North Korea, and Syria — are viewed as threats to the Western world.

• 1960s: Socialism is frowned upon as a vile off-spring of Communist ideologies. Capitalism is the driving force behind which democracy accelerates throughout the world.

  Today: Although capitalism is still a driving force, socialism is far more widely accepted, with many developed countries in the Western world offering socialized medicine and adequate welfare for the needy.

• 1960s: The American Civil Rights movement to end segregation and discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and education is in full swing, focusing on equal rights and protections for blacks. Three Civil Rights Acts are enacted during this decade.

  Today: Related civil liberties movements have spurred change for women and the disabled and have begun to make inroads in rights for gays. Massachusetts has become the first state to allow gays to marry, with Vermont and Connecticut legalizing civil unions between gays. Some believe, however, that the USA Patriot Act, enacted to combat terrorism, threatens civil liberties in the name of national security.

• 1960s: The annual salary of a minimum-wage worker is equal to the U.S. federal poverty line for a family of three.

  Today: The annual salary of a minimum-wage worker is 30 percent below the U.S. federal poverty line for a family of three.