POEM

ANALYSIS
“My Parents”by Stephen
Sender
TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 03
General questions Analysis of stanza 2
answered by entire
group

02 04
Analysis of stanza 1 Analysis of stanza 3
 GENERAL
01 QUESTIONS
My parents kept me from children who
were rough Who threw words like stones 1. What is the poem about?
and wore torn clothes Their thighs showed
through rags they ran in the street And The poem is about a child being bullied and the
climbed cliffs and stripped by the country
child’s desire to be part of a group of children,
streams.
who bullied him even though all the child
I feared more than tigers their muscles like wanted was to befriend them.
iron Their jerking hands and their knees
tight on my arms I feared the salt coarse 2. Who is speaking in the poem? Describe the
pointing of those boys Who copied my lisp speaker.
behind me on the road.
The person who was being bullied was
They were lithe they sprang out behind
hedges Like dogs to bark at my world. narrating the poem. The speaker seemed to be a
They threw mud While I looked the other child who was jealous of the bullies’ freedom.
way, pretending to smile. I longed to The speaker talks about how they always feared
forgive them but they never smiled. the bullies. The speaker also tried to forgive
his bullies but he never did.
 Analysis of stanza 1 by Munachi
02 Ezeanya
My parents kept me from children
1. This stanza talks  about the child's parents
who were rough Who threw words who kept him from the rugged children and
like stones and wore torn clothes gave a description of their habits and
Their thighs showed through rags characteristics and the freedom they had.
they ran in the street And climbed
2. The phrase "who threw words like stones" is a
and stripped by the country streams. simile. The line "And climbed cliffs and stripped by
the country streams" is an alliteration because of the
repetitive use of the letter 'C'.

3. In line 2, where the poet says "their thighs showed through rags" appeals to the sense of sight and in
line 1 where the poet says "who threw words like stones" applies to the ability of hearing.
4. The children seem to be from a poor/lower socioeconomic class, as he portrays the children in a very
ill-disciplined and ungovernable light, an example seen when the poet says "they threw words like
stones" , explaining why his parents kept him away from them. They are also described to have worn
battered and torn clothes.
 Analysis of stanza 2 by Aniela
02 Dandrade
1. This stanza covered the fear the speaker had for
I feared more than tigers their their bullies and some of the things they used to do
muscles like iron Their jerking hands towards him which caused him to fear them.
and their knees tight on my arms I
feared the salt coarse pointing of 2. The phrase "muscles like iron", is a simile
suggesting their immense strength due to all their
those boys Who copied by lisp
activities and harsher experiences. The statement "I
behind me on the road. feared more than tigers, their muscles like iron" is
a hyperbole suggesting that the child's fear may have
caused him to make exaggerated statements about his
bullies. 
3. In line 6, the poet says "their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms" appeals to the sense of
touch and in line 8 where the poet continued "who copied my lisp behind me on the road" appeals to the
sense of hearing.
4. Fearful would be the word used to describe the tone of this stanza because the line 5 talked about how he
fears the boys “more than tigers” which conveys their thuggish behavior and beast-like character. They had
“muscles like iron”, suggesting that they were strong enough to overpower the child and attack him brutally.
 Analysis of stanza 3 by Brianna
02
Churaman
They were lithe they sprang out 1. The child is being bullied by the children in
behind hedges Like dogs to bark this stanza. The child is also unhappy because,
despite having been bullied, he yearns to be
at my world. They threw mud
welcomed. The child wished to forgive them, but
While I looked the other way, they never showed him any kindness or even a
pretending to smile. I longed to smile, so he never did.
forgive them but they never 2. Line 10 “Like dogs to bark at my world,” is a
smiled. simile. It refers to them as dogs  which suggests that
. the bullies were uncivilized and ferocious. Line 12
“they never smiled,” is a metaphor for the fact that
they(the bullies) never accepted him.
3. Line 11,  “While I looked the other way” is an example of Visual Imagery. It appeals to the sense of sight
and line 10 “They threw mud...” is an example of Tactile Imagery. It appeals to the sense of touch.

4. The greatest desire of the speaker in the poem is to forgive the children who bullied him, but even
though he wants to forgive them for the torment they caused him, they never reciprocate this desire, nor
do they return a smile. 
THAT’S THE END! We hope you enjoyed!

The members of this Munachi Ezeanya 3B

Aniela Dandrade 3B Brianna Churaman