School Prayer (poem)

"School Prayer" is a free verse poem written by Carol Ann Duffy, the former Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. The poem is a satirical commentary on the commercialization of religion and the superficial nature of requests made to a higher power in a contemporary setting, particularly within the context of a school.

The poem adopts the persona of a schoolchild reciting a prayer that is far removed from traditional religious supplication. Instead, the prayer is a wish list of material possessions and desires, including items such as trainers, mobile phones, and fashionable clothes. The language is deliberately colloquial and contemporary, further highlighting the disjuncture between traditional religious language and the materialistic values of modern youth culture.

Duffy's "School Prayer" is a critique of consumerism, the pressures placed on young people to conform to societal expectations, and the potential for religious observance to become shallow and performative. The poem does not necessarily condemn religion itself but rather uses the framework of prayer to expose the vacuousness of a culture obsessed with material gain. The poem's power lies in its ironic juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane, prompting readers to consider the true meaning of prayer and the values that underpin contemporary society. The setting of a school emphasizes the poem's concerns about the influences shaping young minds and the potential for education to be complicit in the perpetuation of materialistic values.