✍️ Poetry

Two's Company

by Raymond Wilson

★★★☆☆ MCQAnalysisAtmosphere

The sad story of a man who didn't believe in ghosts They said the house was haunted, but He laughed at them and said, 'Tut, tut! I've never heard such tittle-tattle As ghosts that groan and chains that rattle; And just to prove I'm in the right, Please leave me here to spend the night.' They left him just as dusk was falling With a hunchback moon and screech-owls calling. But what is that? Outside it seemed As if chains rattled, someone screamed! Come, come, it's merely nerves, he's certain (But just the same, he draws the curtain). The stroke of twelve — but there's no clock! He shuts the door and turns the lock (Of course, he knows that no one's there, But no harm's done by taking care!); Someone's outside — the silly joker, (He may as well pick up the poker!) That noise again! He checks the doors, Shutters the windows, makes a pause To seek the safest place to hide — (The cupboard's strong — he creeps inside). 'Not that there's anything to fear!' He tells himself, when at his ear A voice breathes softly, 'How do you do! I am a ghost. Pray who are you?'

What happens — the sense

A man boasts that ghosts don't exist and stays alone in a haunted house to prove it. As night falls and strange noises begin, he reassures himself it is "merely nerves" — while pulling the curtain, locking the door, picking up a poker, and finally hiding in a cupboard. The poem ends when a real ghost introduces itself. The man's words and actions contradict each other throughout — that is the joke.

Themes

Dramatic irony / contradiction between words and actions. He says he isn't afraid but every action proves he is.
Pride and overconfidence. His need to "prove I'm in the right" leads him into the very danger he denies.
The supernatural vs rational belief. Rationalism is defeated — the ghost is real, despite the man's certainty.
Comic humour through self-delusion. The poem is a comic poem; the man is laughable, not tragic.

Tone

Lightly comic and ironic throughout. The narrator tells the story with gentle amusement — the parenthetical comments in brackets are the poet nudging the reader and sharing a wink. The subtitle "The sad story of a man who didn't believe in ghosts" is itself comic: calling this trivial self-humiliation a "sad story".

Form & poetic devices

Form	Rhyming couplets (AABBCC…) — the sing-song, children's-story rhythm makes the man's escalating fear comic. The neat rhymes contrast with the chaos of his fear.
Dramatic irony	The reader knows he is terrified; he insists he is not. Every action (curtain, lock, poker, cupboard) contradicts his words. This is the central device.
Parenthetical asides	Brackets contain his real behaviour: "(he draws the curtain)", "(He may as well pick up the poker!)" — the poet stepping in to expose him.
Imagery	"a hunchback moon and screech-owls calling" — deliberately eerie Gothic imagery; pathetic fallacy sets the ominous atmosphere.
Narrative voice	Third-person narrator who is wry and gently mocking — distinct from the man himself.

⭐ Exam facts — remember these

Poet: Raymond Wilson.
Form: rhyming couplets (AABB) — comic, ballad-like rhythm.
Central theme: dramatic irony — the gap between what the man claims (no fear) and what he does (every action showing fear).
Key device: parenthetical asides in brackets revealing his true behaviour.
2024 exam extracted: "They left him just as dusk was falling / With a hunchback moon and screech-owls calling" — examiners asked about situation, time of day, and the effect of imagery.
The final couplet is the punchline — the ghost actually exists, introduced with polite small-talk: "How do you do!"

⚠ Common student mistakes

Missing the dramatic irony — the poem is entirely built on the gap between his words and actions. Always name this device.
Saying the poem is scary or tragic — it is comic. The subtitle "sad story" is itself a joke.
Ignoring the brackets — the parenthetical asides are a key structural device that examiners will ask about.
Giving the wrong time: "just as dusk was falling" — it is evening / twilight, not midnight (midnight comes later in the poem).

✅ Quick Check

Answer these to lock in the key points. Wrong answers are saved to your Mistake Notebook.

📝 Exam Practice

Real Section A format — write your answer first, then reveal the model answer.

"They left him just as dusk was falling
With a hunchback moon and screech-owls calling."

✓ Real past paper 2024(2025) Section A — Paper I, Question I(ii)

(a) From which poem are these lines taken? Who is the poet? (01 mark)
(b) What is the situation presented in these lines? (01 mark)
(c) What time of day is indicated by these lines? (01 mark)
(d) Explain the effect created by the images used in these lines. (02 marks)

"Then he heard the back door open
And a voice from just inside:
'I've been waiting long to see you.
Won't you please come in and hide?'"

✎ Practice drill Practice question

(a) Name the poem and the poet. (01 mark)
(b) Who is speaking in these lines? (01 mark)
(c) What is ironic about the ghost's words? (01 mark)
(d) How does the ending of the poem subvert the reader's expectations? (02 marks)

📝 Practice more