Nettles Poem Esay

289 Words2 Pages
The overall theme in this poem is relationship; but particularly the fact that a loving relationship, even between a father and son, can’t protect you from the harshness of the world. The last line ‘my son would often feel sharp wounds again’ supports the point that you can always be attacked no matter your support system. The use of the word ‘again’ means this is not a onetime incident but a recurring theme in life. It also shows there are always going to be situations in life where you get hurt. The theme is also a father’s desire to protect his son. He shows anger and harshness towards the nettles seen through the harsh t and d letters and also his use of enjambment; however he shows tenderness and love towards his son through using soft s sounds. He tries to protect he child but soon realises he can’t. He had an intense passion towards protecting his child, he seeks revenge but he is regretful that he can’t protect his child from everything. His last line emphasises this regret but also acceptance that his son has to go through life feeling sharp wounds.He wants to protect his son, it shows the connection and bound between father and son and the closeness of their relationship. Scannell lost 2 sons and this may be inspiration for this poem. He couldn’t protect his own children from the harshness of the world. The poem uses time phrases a lot; ‘last, ‘and then’, ‘in two weeks’, ‘would often feel’; this adds a narrative feel to the poem. Another feature that adds to the narrative feel is the way the poem is written in the first person. This makes the poem much more
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