Naming of Parts

Henry Reed was born in Birmingham, earned a BA, worked as a teacher, and served in the British Army. His poem, Naming of Parts is a clever piece which offers a glimpse into the psyche of a cadet-in-training.


Naming of Parts
Henry Reed, 1914-1986


To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But today,T
o-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighbouring gardens,
And to-day we have naming of parts.


The first three lines are very forthright and factual which suggests the tone is commanding… in line four the subject matter changes and the speakers voice is contemplating nature and his environment…


This is the lower sling swivel. And this
Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings. And this is the piling swivel,
Which in your case you have not got. The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
Which in our case we have not got.


The speakers voice is a commander, maybe an officer- an authority figure. He is addressing a classroom of cadets, showing them the machinery, how to handle a gun. Techinical and mechanical words like “upper sling swivel” is probably a reference to a gun of some sort. The tone changes in forth line as th speaker begins to talk of nature- this is such a dramatic change it alludes to the voice of a different speaker altogether. This person is a cadet, sitting in the classroom, listening to a lecture on guns, and staring out the window and thinking about how lovely and beautiful it is outside. There are two very different dynamics here- war versus nature…


This is the safety-catch, which is always released
With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me
See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your thumb. The blossoms
Are fragile and motionless, never letting anyone see
Any of them using their finger.


This passage confirms there are two separate voices: one is the voice of the teacher, the other is the voice of the student. The student is thinking to himself, half listening to the instructions, half day-dreaming of the day outside- away from the institutional walls. The repetiton is clever. The teacher instructs that he dosen’t want to see anyone “using his finger” and the student, who is seemingly in and out of consiousness (he’s physically in the classroom but his mind is elsewhere) is overhearing “bits and pieces” of the lecture. At the end of each stanza he repeats something his teacher said. This is a very clever and unique style of writing- there is a deep, psychological element to this piece.


And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this Easing the spring.
And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.


This is a particularly clever stanza. Unique word choice is evident in this passage. There appears to be certain words which belong to the same category: “Bolt” and “spring” are mechanical or techincal words. “Backwards”, “forwards”, “rapidly”, and “fumbling” are chaotic action words. There is a relationship between the students observations of nature, newness, and Springtime, with the relationship of “bees assaulting and fumbling the flowers”. There is a sexual connotation here as well as with other descriptions of “opening the breech” and “easing the spring”. The contrast of war and nature is also apparent here with the description of the bees “assulting” and harrassing the flowers.


They call it easing the Spring; it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb; like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cockingpiece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards
For to-day we have naming of parts.


In the last stanza, it appears as though the student’s mind has begun to wander into the erotic- he’s fantacizing. As the teacher relays the lesson, he’s imagining sexual activity. As he looks out the window admiring nature, he’s thinking about “the birds and the bees” and the newness which tends to come in Spring.

Afterthought...the title to the poem is erotic as well (in a scientific sort-of-way)..