The Class Game by Mary Casey: context, form and key methods

A working-class woman from Liverpool turns the tables on someone who looks down on her. This poem is in copyright, so it is described mainly in our own words.

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Context and Casey's purpose

Pearson dates the poem to 1979. In the 1970s, Britain was strongly divided by social class, and accents and everyday words were often used to judge people.
The speaker is from Liverpool. Casey shows how snobbery hurts, and how a working-class person can answer back with pride.

Form and structure

A dramatic monologue spoken directly to a snobbish listener, with regular rhyme that gives it a punchy, confident sound.
Written in dialect, spelling words as the speaker says them, so her voice is proud and clear.
The poem builds up a list of the things that give away her class, returns again and again to the same challenging question, and ends with her declaring her pride.

Language and key methods

Rhetorical questions: she keeps asking "what class I'm from", forcing the listener to admit their prejudice.
Contrasting vocabulary: she compares the everyday words she uses for ordinary things with the 'posh' words a middle-class person might use, showing how small details are used to judge people.
Tone: angry but also witty. By the end, the speaker turns the judgement round: the listener's snobbery is the real problem, and she is proud of where she comes from.
Worked example

Compare how pride in identity is presented in The Class Game and Half-caste.

  1. Both speakers challenge someone who judges them.
  2. Casey's repeated question and dialect; Agard's sarcasm and Creole.
  3. AO3: class division in 1970s Britain; attitudes to mixed heritage in 1990s Britain.

Answer: Both Casey and Agard present speakers who are proud of their identity and refuse to be judged. Casey's speaker repeatedly asks "what class I'm from", and the rhetorical question forces the snobbish listener to face their own prejudice; her use of Liverpool dialect shows that she will not change the way she speaks. Similarly, Agard uses Caribbean Creole and ends by asking his listener to return with "de whole of yu mind", turning the insult back on them. However, Casey's tone is more personal and defiant, rooted in the class divisions of 1970s Britain, whereas Agard's is more playful and sarcastic. Both suggest that the conflict lies not in who they are, but in how others see them.

Key idea

1979; Liverpool; class division. Dramatic monologue in dialect with regular rhyme; repeated rhetorical question about class; contrasting everyday and 'posh' words; angry, witty, proud tone.

Key words
Context
The circumstances in which a text was written and set, such as historical events, social attitudes and the writer's life (AO3 in the GCSE, AO4 in the International GCSE).
Form
The type and shape of a text: for example sonnet, ballad, free verse, tragedy, comedy, novel or play.
Dramatic monologue
A poem spoken by one character to a silent listener, which reveals more about the speaker than they intend. My Last Duchess is an example.
Monologue
A long speech by one character.
Dialect
A form of language used in a particular region or social group, with its own words and grammar.
Rhetorical question
A question asked for effect rather than to get an answer.

All GCSE and International GCSE English Literature key terms and definitions →

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Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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