Slough was written in 1937, at a time when Britain was experiencing rapid industrial expansion in certain areas, particularly along new arterial roads and trading estates.
The Slough Trading Estate was one of the largest industrial estates in Europe at the time, and had become a symbol of modern commercial development.
Betjeman’s poem is a fierce satirical attack on this emerging industrial landscape and what he saw as the cultural and spiritual emptiness it represented.
The poem opens with the shocking invocation:
“Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!”
This startling first line immediately establishes tone and technique: hyperbolic satire. The speaker calls for destruction not out of literal malice, but to express moral outrage at what Slough symbolises — soulless modernity, speculative building, and the erosion of England’s pastoral and architectural heritage.
Satire and Hyperbole
Betjeman’s tone is exaggerated and ironic throughout. His call for bombs, written only two years before the outbreak of the Second World War, now carries a dark historical irony.
Yet within the poem’s 1937 context, it functions as a grotesque exaggeration designed to provoke and shock.
The town is depicted as:
Spiritually barren
Architecturally ugly
Morally empty
Phrases such as “tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned milk” create a rhythm of artificiality and uniformity. The repetition of “tinned” suggests not just preserved food but preserved, mechanised lives — sealed, standardised and devoid of freshness. Industrial capitalism becomes something embalmed and lifeless.
Industrial Modernity vs. Rural England
A central tension in Slough is the clash between industrial progress and the older vision of England that Betjeman cherished. He was known for his affection for Victorian architecture and rural landscapes. In this poem, modern business culture appears sterile and spiritually corrosive:
“And get that man with double chin
Who’ll always cheat and always win…”
Here Betjeman satirises the figure of the profit-driven businessman — physically unappealing, morally suspect, and emblematic of unregulated capitalism.
The poem suggests that economic “progress” has replaced beauty, craftsmanship and community with speculative building and profit margins. Slough becomes shorthand for a new England dominated by concrete, office blocks and commuter culture.
Rhythm and Structure
The poem uses a jaunty, almost nursery-rhyme rhythm. This lightness contrasts sharply with the violence of its opening line and the severity of its criticism. The regular rhyme scheme and bouncy cadence intensify the satire; the poem sounds cheerful while expressing destructive wishes.
This contrast creates tension:
Cheerful rhythm
Bitter content
The form mirrors the hypocrisy Betjeman perceives — pleasant surfaces masking ugliness beneath.
Moral and Spiritual Emptiness
One of the poem’s most powerful themes is spiritual decay. Betjeman portrays Slough as lacking imagination, art and emotional depth:
“There isn’t grass to graze a cow.”
This line functions symbolically. The absence of grass implies not merely urbanisation but the eradication of organic life. Nature has been replaced by asphalt and warehouses.
The town is portrayed as mechanised, joyless and culturally thin — a place of mass-produced existence rather than individual identity.
Historical Irony
After the Blitz began in 1940, Betjeman reportedly expressed regret over the poem’s opening line. The reality of bombs falling on English towns made the satire uncomfortably literal.
This historical development complicates modern readings of the poem. What was once exaggerated rhetoric gained tragic resonance.
Today, the poem may feel less like a call for destruction and more like a cultural lament — a warning about unthinking development and the loss of heritage.
Is the Poem Fair?
A critical reading must ask whether Betjeman’s portrayal is exaggerated and elitist. Slough provided employment during the interwar depression and represented economic opportunity for many. From another perspective, it symbolised modern resilience rather than decay.
Thus, the poem can be read in two ways:
A sharp and prophetic critique of soulless industrialisation.
A nostalgic, perhaps reactionary rejection of social change.
Betjeman’s conservatism informs the poem’s perspective. His love of architectural tradition and Anglican England shapes his disdain for commercial modernity.
Conclusion
Slough remains one of Betjeman’s most provocative poems. Its biting satire, exaggerated invective and rhythmic irony create a powerful critique of 1930s industrial expansion. Yet it is also a poem rooted in anxiety — about modernity, capitalism, and the erosion of a particular vision of England.
Rather than simply attacking a town, Betjeman attacks a mindset: one that prioritises profit over beauty and efficiency over soul. The poem endures because its questions about development, heritage and cultural identity remain relevant today.
