Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · English Literature

    Course version: 9ET0 · Version from Sept 2015

    Poetry – Section A: Post-2000 Poetry – Poems of the Decade: An Anthology…

    Full specification wording

    Component 3: Poetry – Section A: Post-2000 Poetry – Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2002–2011: Please Hold Ciaran O’Driscoll

    Ciaran O'Driscoll's 'Please Hold' satirises the dehumanising experience of modern automated telephone systems.

    Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9ET0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .

    • Point 18 of 20
    • 4 key terms

    Study notes

    From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.

    The idea

    Ciaran O'Driscoll's 'Please Hold' satirises the dehumanising experience of modern automated telephone systems. The poem uses repetition, robotic language, and a fragmented structure to mirror the speaker's mounting frustration and powerlessness. By juxtaposing the speaker's internal monologue with the cold, pre-recorded voice of the machine and the wife's cynical commentary, O'Driscoll highlights the alienation of contemporary life. The transition from a specific annoyance to a broader existential dread is cemented in the final stanza, where the relentless repetition of 'Please hold' becomes a metaphor for the stagnation and loss of human connection in a technologically driven society.

    What earns the marks

    • Analyse the use of repetition (e.g., 'This is the future', 'Please hold') to create a sense of entrapment and monotony.
    • Evaluate the contrast between the robotic, imperative language of the automated system and the speaker's colloquial, increasingly desperate responses.
    • Discuss the structural choices, such as the single continuous stanza followed by a shorter, cyclical ending, reflecting the inescapable loop of the phone system.
    • Explore the satirical tone and how the wife's interjections ('This is the future') amplify the poem's critique of modern technological alienation.

    Common mistakes and how to put them right

    • Treating the poem solely as a comedic rant about a phone call.

      Put it right: Analyse the deeper existential themes of dehumanisation and loss of agency.

    • Ignoring the role of the wife's voice.

      Put it right: Examine how her repeated phrase 'This is the future' acts as a cynical chorus that reinforces the speaker's despair.

    • Overlooking the significance of the ending.

      Put it right: Discuss how the final repetition of 'Please hold' shifts the poem from a literal phone call to a metaphor for societal paralysis.

    Exam tips

    • Compare the use of voice in 'Please Hold' with other poems in the anthology that explore isolation or modern life, such as 'A Minor Role'.
    • Focus on the specific linguistic choices of the automated voice, noting how verbs like 'say' and 'press' strip away human agency.
    • Use the poem's structural breakdown towards the end as evidence of the speaker's psychological deterioration.

    Try the lesson

    The start of the Component 3: Poetry – Section A: Post-2000 Poetry – Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2002–2011: Please Hold Ciaran O’Driscoll lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.

    Have a go first

    What is the central situation described in Ciaran O’Driscoll's poem "Please Hold"?

    Listen

    Ciaran O'Driscoll's 'Please Hold' satirises the dehumanising experience of modern automated telephone systems. The poem uses repetition, robotic language, and a fragmented structure to mirror the speaker's mounting frustration and powerlessness. By juxtaposing the speaker's internal monologue with the cold, pre-recorded voice of the machine and the wife's cynical commentary, O'Driscoll highlights the alienation of contemporary life. The transition from a specific annoyance to a broader existential dread is cemented in the final stanza, where the relentless repetition of 'Please hold' becomes a metaphor for the stagnation and loss of human connection in a technologically driven society. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Analyse the use of repetition (e.g., 'This is the future', 'Please hold') to create a sense of entrapment and monotony. Evaluate the contrast between the robotic, imperative language of the automated system and the speaker's colloquial, increasingly desperate responses. Discuss the structural choices, such as the single continuous stanza followed by a shorter, cyclical ending, reflecting the inescapable loop of the phone system. Explore the satirical tone and how the wife's interjections ('This is the future') amplify the poem's critique of modern technological alienation. A common slip: Treating the poem solely as a comedic rant about a phone call. Instead, analyse the deeper existential themes of dehumanisation and loss of agency. Exam tip: Compare the use of voice in 'Please Hold' with other poems in the anthology that explore isolation or modern life, such as 'A Minor Role'.

    See it

    A top-down flowchart. The automated telephone system leads to robotic, imperative language, which leads to the speaker's mounting frustration and powerlessness. From there one arrow goes to the wife's cynical commentary, which leads to the repetition of 'This is the future', which leads to the speaker's despair. A second arrow from the speaker's frustration goes to the repetition of 'Please hold', which leads to the final stanza as a metaphor for stagnation and loss of human connection. The speaker's despair also leads to that same final stanza.
    Shows how the automated system, the speaker's frustration and the wife's commentary combine to turn 'Please hold' into a metaphor for stagnation and loss of human connection.

    Key words

    Say what each word means before you turn the card.

    Technological alienation

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Frustration and powerlessness

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    The breakdown of communication

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Modernity and the future

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    See every definition
    Technological alienation
    The dehumanising experience of modern automated systems, which the poem satirises and which highlights the alienation of contemporary life.
    Frustration and powerlessness
    The speaker's mounting response, mirrored through repetition, robotic language and a fragmented structure.
    The breakdown of communication
    The loss of human connection in a technologically driven society, for which the relentless repetition of 'Please hold' becomes a metaphor.
    Modernity and the future
    The stagnation and loss of human connection in a technologically driven society, critiqued through the wife's cynical interjections.

    Label the diagram

    Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.

    The diagram again, with 3 boxes numbered instead of named. A top-down flowchart. The automated telephone system leads to robotic, imperative language, which leads to the speaker's mounting frustration and powerlessness. From there one arrow goes to the wife's cynical commentary, which leads to the repetition of 'This is the future', which leads to the speaker's despair. A second arrow from the speaker's frustration goes to the repetition of 'Please hold', which leads to the final stanza as a metaphor for stagnation and loss of human connection. The speaker's despair also leads to that same final stanza.

    • 1Box 1

    • 2Box 2

    • 3Box 3

    0 of 3 labelled

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