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Background - the drivers

It is a sharp clear night/ in Sauchiehall Street.

The third part of the poem pulls back to show us the background of the picture. The image is well defined because of the clear weather described in the poem. Morgan's use of sharp clear links the three parts of the image, reminding us of the broken glass and the bloodless calculation of the two criminals.

Morgan states the location here, Sauchiehall Street, at the centre of Glasgow's shopping area. The use of the name grounds the poem once more in documentary reality. This is a real place and so we are reminded that these are real events with real, long term consequences.

In the background two drivers/ keep their eyes on the road.

The poem finishes on two further characters – drivers in their vehicles. This again links the three parts of the scene, each containing three people. Perhaps they are getaway drivers for the thieves or merely people out in their cars occupied with their own lives. Either way they are dispassionate about the events that are occurring so close to them. They remain focused on their own activity, don't notice or don't care. They certainly make no attempt to help the stricken people. Their lack of engagement links them to the expressionless, unemotional criminals. This suggests that they are somehow complicit in what is happening.

Morgan seems to conclude that we live in a world which is unwilling to show compassion or get involved.

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