Form, structure and language - CCEATitle

The title of the novel is derived from an English nursery rhyme which is referred to several times in the narrative. The lyrics are generally considered to be as follows:

How many miles to Babylon?

Three score and ten.

Can I get there by candlelight?

Yes, and back again.

If your heels are nimble and light,

You may get there by candlelight.

Alec sings the rhyme to the priest who comes to visit him in prison as the novel opens.

The priest is disturbed by his “frivolity”, but the rhyme seems less frivolous when we see the references to it at other times in the novel.

When Alec is a child the nursery rhyme offers a glimpse of another world.

He thinks on it again as he is having his last “glimpse of the two swans rocking gently on the lake” before he leaves for war and contemplates the journey ahead of him.

He wonders, “Will I get there by candlelight?” He says of the rhyme, “It was the only thing in my mind.”

The associations with the rhyme in Alec’s mind therefore make his singing it during his time with the priest not frivolous but poignant.

Indeed, the association of the title with a childhood poem reminds the reader of the youth and innocence of those killed by war.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is used at times in the novel to create an ominoustone and to hint at what is to come.

Alec’s indifference in his attitude to his mother when he states in the opening scene that “My heart doesn’t bleed for her”, foreshadows the dysfunctional family relationships that we see in the flashback.

We are curious as to why he may have this surprising antipathy towards her.

The senseless killing of the swan near the end of the novel - and Alec’s disgust at the man who shot it - seems to foreshadow the shooting of Jerry soon afterwards.

Swans are associated with lifelong loyalty to their mate.

Therefore the shooting of one of this pair seems symbolic when we see how Alec sacrifices his life for his best friend, Jerry.