General
What is the name of the poem?
My Parents
Do you think the parents are to be blamed for their child's sadness? Explain your answer.
No. They just wanted to protect their child from bad influences.
What is the main theme in the poem?
Bullying
What are figurative devices?
Figurative devices are certain words or phrases that allow a writer to convey a deeper meaning that goes beyond what's on the page.
What evidence from the poem suggest the bullies made fun of the boy's disability?
"Who copied my lisp behind me on the road"
Who is the author of the poem?
Stephen Spender
What do you think is the mood of the poem?
Sad, depressing, etc.
In which lines of the poem is the theme expressed?
Lines 2, 8, 6, 7 and 9
What are some figuarative devices used in the poem?
Simile, alliteration, imagery, metaphor
What evidence from the poem supports how insensitive the bullies were?
"Like dogs to bark at my world They threw mud while I look the other way, pretending to smile"
How many stanzas are there in poem?
Three (3)
Do you think the setting of the poem is in a city or in the country? Explain your answer.
The country, because the poem says "they stripped by the country streams."
How does the author describe the bullies?
As ragged in appearance.
Give an example of a simile in the poem.
Line two
“Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes .“
What evidence from the poem supports how rough the bullies were?
"Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street and climed cliffs and stripped by the country streams"
Who are the characters of the poem?
The parents, the child and the bullies.
Why do you think the bullies picked on the child so often?
The bullies picked on the child so much because, he/she was treated differently by his/her parents, and did not participated in the things they do.
Was the theme presented in an implicit or explicit way?
The author uses both methods to present the theme.
Give an example of imagery in the poem.
Line three
"Their thighs showed through rags as they ran in the street"
What evidence from the poem suggests that the bullies were strong?
"I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron"