- Poet
- Raymond Wilson
- Syllabus theme
- Humour
- Form
- Narrative poem in rhyming couplets, in two parts
- Main character
- A man who boasts that he does not believe in ghosts
- Key idea
- Over-confidence collapses into fear, with a comic twist
About the poet
Raymond Wilson was an English poet and teacher who wrote, and edited, many poems and poetry collections for young readers. His poems for children are known for their strong storytelling, lively rhythm and humour.
"Two's Company" is a good example: a short, funny ghost story in rhyme, told with a clear beginning, build-up and surprise ending.
Background
Ghost stories about haunted houses are popular all over the world, and so are stories about the person who laughs at them and then learns a lesson. The original LitHelp notes record the poem's subtitle, "The sad story of a man who didn't believe in ghosts". The subtitle is itself humorous, because the story turns out to be a comedy.
The title plays on the English proverb "Two's company, three's a crowd". The man wanted to spend the night alone to prove the house was empty, but he discovers that he has company after all: the ghost. Together they make "two".
"Two's Company" is prescribed under the theme Humour, with "The Camel's Hump", "Upside Down" and "The Huntsman". Compare it with "Colonel Fazackerley", another humorous ghost poem mentioned in the original notes, where the hero outsmarts the ghost.
Setting
A haunted house, at night. The poet builds a frightening atmosphere: dusk falling, "a hunchback moon", screech owls calling, chains that seem to rattle, a scream, and a clock striking twelve in a house with no clock. The man shuts himself in, room by room, and finally hides in a cupboard.
Synopsis
People tell a man that a house is haunted. He laughs at them, calls it "tittle-tattle", and asks to be left there for the night to prove he is right. They wink, smother their laughter and leave him at dusk. At first he is not troubled at all. But then he hears chains rattling and someone screaming. He tells himself it is only nerves, yet he draws the curtain, locks the door, picks up the poker, shutters the windows and finally creeps into a strong cupboard to hide. "Not that there's anything to fear," he tells himself, until a voice at his ear breathes softly: "How do you do! / I am the ghost. Pray who are you?"
Line-by-line analysis
Part 1: confidence
Lines 1–6They said the house was haunted, but
he laughed at them and said, 'Tut, tut!
I never heard such tittle-tattle
as ghosts that groan and chains that rattle;
And just to prove I'm in the right,
please leave me here to spend the night.'
The poem begins with a challenge. "Tut, tut!" is a scornful exclamation, and "tittle-tattle" (silly gossip) shows how much he looks down on other people's beliefs. His mockery uses the clichés of ghost stories, "ghosts that groan and chains that rattle", with alliteration (ghosts/groan) and rhyme (tattle/rattle) that make his scorn sound comic. He is proud and certain: "just to prove I'm in the right".
Lines 7–10They winked absurdly, tried to smother
their ignorant laughter, nudged each other,
and left him just as dusk was falling
with a hunchback moon and screech owls calling.
The other people wink and nudge each other, knowing something he does not, which creates dramatic irony. The words "absurdly" and "ignorant" show the events from the man's point of view: he thinks they are foolish. The atmosphere darkens with imagery: "dusk was falling", "a hunchback moon" (a crooked, misshapen moon, a sinister metaphor), and "screech owls calling" (auditory imagery).
Lines 11–14Not that this troubled him one bit;
in fact, he was quite glad of it,
knowing it's every sane man's mission
to contradict all superstition.
His over-confidence peaks. "Not that this troubled him one bit" is ironic, because soon it will trouble him greatly. He sees himself as a "sane man" on a "mission" to defeat "superstition", a grand phrase that makes his fall more comic.
Part 2: growing fear
Lines 15–18But what is that? Outside it seemed
as if chains rattled, someone screamed!
Come, come, it's merely nerves, he's certain
(but just the same, he draws the curtain).
The second part begins with a sudden question, "But what is that?", and the tense shifts to the present, making the scene immediate. The very sounds he mocked, chains rattling, now seem real. Here the poem's main comic technique appears: his words ("it's merely nerves, he's certain") contradict his actions, which are given in brackets ("but just the same, he draws the curtain"). The brackets work like a narrator's knowing aside to the reader.
Lines 19–24The stroke of twelve — but there's no clock!
He shuts the door and turns the lock
(of course he knows that no-one's there,
but no harm's done by taking care!);
someone's outside — the silly joker,
(he may as well pick up the poker!)
Midnight strikes, yet "there's no clock!", a chilling, impossible detail that builds suspense. Each new fear brings a new precaution: he locks the door, then picks up the poker. The pattern of the confident claim followed by the bracketed action continues, and it becomes funnier each time. He even tries to explain the noise away as a "silly joker".
Lines 25–28That noise again! He checks the doors,
shutters the windows, makes a pause
to seek the safest place to hide —
(the cupboard's strong — he creeps inside).
The actions speed up: checking, shuttering, hiding. "Creeps" is the opposite of the bold man at the start. The proud sceptic now hides in a cupboard, a comic reversal.
Lines 29–32'Not that there's anything to fear'
he tells himself, when at his ear
a voice breathes softly, 'How do you do!
I am the ghost. Pray who are you?'
Even inside the cupboard he still insists there is nothing to fear. The words "Not that" echo line 11, "Not that this troubled him one bit". Then comes the twist: the ghost is in the cupboard with him. The humour lies in the ghost's unexpected politeness. Instead of groaning or rattling chains, it introduces itself like a well-mannered host: "How do you do! … Pray who are you?" As the original notes say, "normally we do not expect such politeness from a ghost." The poem ends on this surprise, leaving the man's reaction to our imagination.
Themes
- Pride before a fallThe man's boasting and scorn make his terrified collapse both funny and deserved.
- Belief and superstitionHe sees it as "every sane man's mission / to contradict all superstition", but the ending turns the tables.
- Fear and self-deceptionHe keeps telling himself there is nothing to fear while acting more and more frightened.
- Appearance vs realityWhat he says (calm, rational) is the opposite of what he does (hide).
- Humour in the unexpectedThe polite ghost reverses every expectation of a ghost story.
Literary techniques
| Technique | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Rhyming couplets | tattle/rattle; clock/lock; joker/poker | Quick, lively rhythm suited to a comic story |
| Contrast of words and actions | "it's merely nerves, he's certain / (but just the same, he draws the curtain)" | Main source of humour; exposes self-deception |
| Brackets (parentheses) | "(he may as well pick up the poker!)" | Narrator's knowing asides; comic timing |
| Dramatic irony | The others wink and nudge | The reader suspects what the man does not |
| Atmospheric imagery | "hunchback moon", "screech owls calling" | Creates a spooky, frightening mood |
| Auditory imagery | chains rattled, someone screamed, "the stroke of twelve" | Builds suspense and fear |
| Alliteration | "ghosts that groan" | Mocking, comic sound |
| Twist ending / surprise | The ghost in the cupboard | Comic climax |
| Irony | "Not that this troubled him one bit" | His confidence is about to be proved wrong |
| Pun in the title | "Two's Company" | The man is not alone after all |
Tone
The tone is playful and mocking, laughing at the boastful man. The atmosphere becomes increasingly tense and spooky, and the poem ends in comic surprise. The rhyming couplets keep it light even at its most frightening moments.
Context questions (Part I, Section A)
Each extract carries 5 marks: (a) text and author, 1; (b) speaker, person spoken to, or situation, 2; (c) inference or response, 2.
"I never heard such tittle-tattle
as ghosts that groan and chains that rattle;"
- From which poem are these lines taken? Who wrote it? 1
- Who speaks these words? To whom? 2
- What attitude does the speaker show? 2
Show model answer
(a) "Two's Company" by Raymond Wilson.
(b) The man who does not believe in ghosts speaks them to the people who have told him the house is haunted.
(c) He is scornful, proud and over-confident. He dismisses ghost stories as silly gossip ("tittle-tattle").
"and left him just as dusk was falling
with a hunchback moon and screech owls calling."
- Name the poem and the poet. 1
- Who left "him", and why was he left there? 2
- How do these lines create atmosphere? 2
Show model answer
(a) "Two's Company" by Raymond Wilson.
(b) The people who told him the house was haunted left him there, because he wanted to spend the night alone in the house to prove there were no ghosts.
(c) The imagery of falling dusk, a crooked "hunchback moon" and the cries of screech owls creates a dark, eerie and frightening atmosphere, hinting that something will happen.
"Come, come, it's merely nerves, he's certain
(but just the same, he draws the curtain)."
- From which poem is this extract taken? Who wrote it? 1
- What has just happened? 2
- How does the poet create humour in these lines? 2
Show model answer
(a) "Two's Company" by Raymond Wilson.
(b) The man has heard what seemed like chains rattling and someone screaming outside the house.
(c) His words ("it's merely nerves, he's certain") contradict his action in brackets: he draws the curtain anyway. The contrast exposes his fear and self-deception, which is funny.
"a voice breathes softly, 'How do you do!
I am the ghost. Pray who are you?'"
- Name the poem and the poet. 1
- Where is the man when he hears this voice? Why is he there? 2
- Why is the ending humorous? 2
Show model answer
(a) "Two's Company" by Raymond Wilson.
(b) He is hiding inside a cupboard, which he chose as "the safest place to hide" because he had become frightened by the strange noises.
(c) The ghost is unexpectedly polite and formal ("How do you do! … Pray who are you?") instead of frightening. It is also ironic that the man's "safest place" is where the ghost lives, and that the man who denied ghosts now meets one face to face.
Essay questions (Part II, Poetry)
Content 7 · Organisation 4 · Language 4.
"'Two's Company' satirises people who are too sure of themselves." Discuss how Raymond Wilson creates humour in the poem. 15
Show model answer
Raymond Wilson's "Two's Company" tells the story of a man who boasts that he does not believe in ghosts, spends a night in a haunted house, and ends up hiding in a cupboard with the ghost itself. As the original LitHelp notes say, the poem satirises people who are "100 percent sure" that ghosts do not exist. Its humour comes from the gap between the man's confidence and his behaviour.
At first, the man is scornful and proud. He laughs at the warning and says, "Tut, tut! / I never heard such tittle-tattle / as ghosts that groan and chains that rattle." He even believes it is "every sane man's mission / to contradict all superstition." This exaggerated confidence prepares us for his fall. The other people's winks and nudges create dramatic irony: we suspect, as they do, that he will regret his words.
The main source of humour is the contrast between what he says and what he does. When he hears chains and a scream, he insists, "it's merely nerves, he's certain", but the poet adds in brackets, "(but just the same, he draws the curtain)." The pattern repeats: "of course he knows that no-one's there, / but no harm's done by taking care!" and "(he may as well pick up the poker!)". Each bracketed action is like a wink from the narrator, and the comedy grows as his precautions increase, until "the cupboard's strong — he creeps inside."
The atmosphere, with its "hunchback moon", screech owls and a clock striking twelve "but there's no clock!", creates real suspense, which makes the final release funnier. Even in the cupboard he says, "Not that there's anything to fear", when a voice breathes, "How do you do! / I am the ghost. Pray who are you?" The ghost's polite, formal greeting is the opposite of what we expect, and the "safest place" turns out to be the most dangerous one.
The lively rhyming couplets (tattle/rattle, clock/lock, joker/poker) keep the tone light throughout, and the title "Two's Company" adds a final pun: the man is not alone after all. In conclusion, Wilson uses irony, contrast, comic asides, suspense and a surprise ending to mock over-confidence, and to show that it is unwise to be too sure of ourselves.
Compare the humour in "Two's Company" and "The Huntsman". 15
Show answer plan
- Introduction: both are humorous narrative poems with a supernatural element and a twist.
- Main characters: both are over-confident men (the sceptic, the talkative hunter) whose behaviour leads to their downfall.
- Irony: the man denies ghosts but meets one; the skull speaks only after Kagwa's death.
- Endings: both end with a surprising line of dialogue: "Pray who are you?" / "Talking brought me here."
- Difference in tone: "Two's Company" is light comedy with no real harm, while "The Huntsman" is dark humour that ends in death.
- Techniques: rhyming couplets and bracketed asides vs repetition, refrain and role reversal.
- Conclusion: both teach a lesson through laughter, about over-confidence and about careless talk.
- Saying the man meets the ghost outside. It is inside the cupboard where he hides.
- Missing the brackets. They are the key to the humour, so mention them.
- Calling the poem a "horror" poem. It builds suspense, but it is a comedy.
- Not explaining the title's pun on "Two's company, three's a crowd".