You are here
| Recall this | What you need to remember | Evidence / phrase |
|---|---|---|
| Poet | Reginald Arkell | Humorous poem that tells a small story |
| Form | 3 stanzas, 6 lines each | 18 lines in total |
| Speaker | First-person speaker / poet, Mrs. Jones’s neighbour | “My next-door neighbour…” |
| Setting | Mrs. Jones’s unusual rock garden | path, pond, rockery, sundial, stones |
| Comic setup | Large, hard garden features dominate attention | “garden full of stones” |
| Exaggeration | The plants seem almost microscopic | “plants them with a pin” |
| Punchline | The speaker has failed to notice the flower because he is standing on it | “You’re standing on it” |
| Tone | Humorous, amusing, light-hearted; gently teasing | The comic descriptions and final reply |
| Mood | Curious → amused → surprised | Delayed final revelation |
| Rhyme Scheme | AABBCC in each stanza | Jones/stones, pond/beyond, device/nice |
| Refrain | Repeated opening line of each stanza | “My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,” |
| Alliteration | Repeated initial consonant sounds | “next-door neighbour”, “puts little plants”, “quite a quarter” |
| Imagery | Makes the peculiar garden easy to visualise | crazy path, lily pond, rockery, sundial |
| Irony | Expected flower is not seen; actual flower is under the speaker’s feet | final two lines |
| Title / Pun | “Concrete” suggests hard stone/concrete and also a clear, definite example | double meaning creates humour |
| Main idea | People notice and value the same world differently; small things can be easy to overlook | Mrs. Jones treasures what the speaker misses |
Mrs. Jones
Exam-ready idea: Mrs. Jones is presented positively as an imaginative, enthusiastic gardener whose unusual taste reveals how personal our sense of beauty can be.
The Speaker
Exam-ready idea: The speaker’s poor observation drives the comedy. He can describe the garden well, but he overlooks the tiny living details that Mrs. Jones values.
The final joke depends on the speaker failing to notice what is literally beneath his feet. The poem gently reminds us that seeing is not the same as noticing.
Mrs. Jones treasures the tiny plants; the speaker almost dismisses them. The same garden produces two very different reactions.
No grand disaster occurs. A small neighbourly incident becomes funny because expectation and reality clash.
The poem repeatedly places delicate plants beside stones, rockery and hard surfaces. The contrast makes the living details easier to overlook and therefore central to the joke.
Humorous, amusing and light-hearted. The speaker teases Mrs. Jones’s gardening style, but the poem does not become cruel.
Curious and amused, then surprised. The final line provides the sudden comic release.
Rhyme scheme: Each stanza follows AABBCC . The paired rhymes make the poem sound neat and conversational, allowing the anecdote to move quickly towards its punchline.
Rhythm: Short rhyming couplets give the poem a light, almost nursery-rhyme movement. That simple rhythm makes the final calm reply even funnier.
The poem is mainly comic and story. These are useful contrasts and symbolic readings supported by the text; they should not be forced into every answer.
Plain definition: A line or phrase repeated at regular points in a poem.
Everyday example: The hook line of a song that returns after each verse.
In this poem: “My next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones,” begins all three stanzas.
Effect: It creates familiarity and rhythm, and keeps bringing our attention back to Mrs. Jones before each new stage of the joke.
Plain definition: Repetition of the same starting consonant sound in nearby words.
Everyday example: “wild winds whistle”.
In this poem: “ n ext-door n eighbour”, “ p uts little p lants”, “ qu ite a qu arter”.
Effect: Adds a playful sound pattern that suits the light comic tone.
Plain definition: Language that helps us form a picture in the mind.
Everyday example: “A red kite floated above the green field.”
In this poem: “crazy path”, “lily pond”, “rockery”, “sundial”, “little plants between the stones”.
Effect: Makes the strange garden vivid and directs our attention towards the large features before the tiny flower.
Plain definition: Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or humour.
Everyday example: “I have told you a million times.”
In this poem: “unless she plants them with a pin.”
Effect: Makes the plants seem absurdly tiny and strengthens the comic buildup.
Plain definition: When the actual outcome is very different from what is expected.
Everyday example: A fire station accidentally catching fire.
In this poem: After discussing the lovely flower for fifteen minutes, the speaker asks where it is and learns that he is standing on it.
Effect: Produces the surprise and humour of the punchline.
Plain definition: Wordplay that uses two meanings of the same word, or similar-sounding words, for humour.
Everyday example: “The bicycle was two-tired.”
In this poem: The title “A Concrete Example” can suggest hard concrete/stony material and a clear, definite example.
Effect: The title itself becomes part of the joke.
Plain definition: Placing unlike things together so their difference becomes clearer.
In this poem: hard stones vs delicate plants; Mrs. Jones’s enthusiasm vs the speaker’s the way he treats the plants as unimportant.
Effect: Builds both the poem’s humour and its idea about different way of seeing thingss.
Plain definition: Controlling when information is revealed so the joke lands strongly.
In this poem: The poet waits until the very last line to reveal that the speaker is standing on the flower.
Effect: The delayed information suddenly changes how we understand everything that came before it.
