My Parents – Stephen Spender

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Notes de leçon

The poem at a glance

"My Parents" by English poet Stephen Spender (1909–1995), published in the 1930s.
An adult speaker remembers how his parents kept him from children who were rough — working-class boys who bullied him.
Three quatrains in free verse move from description of the boys, to fear, to a final longing for connection: "I longed to forgive them, but they never smiled."
Key ideas: class division, fear and bullying, envy of freedom, isolation, and the effect of upbringing.

Stanza 1: the rough children

"My parents kept me from children who were rough": the parents' protection is also separation — the title points at them.
"Who threw words like stones": a simile making insults physical and dangerous.
"wore torn clothes. / Their thighs showed through rags": poverty seen through a middle-class child's eyes.
"They ran in the street / And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams": a list of freedoms — outdoor, physical, unsupervised. The speaker may envy them as much as fear them.

Stanza 2: fear

"I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron": hyperbole and a simile — the boys seem wild and machine-strong.
"Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms": remembered physical violence; the harsh verb makes the reader flinch.
"the salt coarse pointing of those boys": "salt" suggests rough, stinging, working-class; pointing singles him out.
"Who copied my lisp behind me on the road": the humiliation is personal — they mock the way he speaks.

Stanza 3: longing

"They were lithe, they sprang out behind hedges / Like dogs to bark at my world": animal imagery — agile, sudden, aggressive; "my world" shows the class boundary.
"They threw mud / While I looked the other way, pretending to smile": he hides his hurt, perhaps wanting to be accepted.
"I longed to forgive them, but they never smiled.": the last line turns from fear to a wish for friendship — but the barrier remains.
The caesura at "but" sharpens the disappointment: reconciliation is wanted, and refused.

Form and methods

Three quatrains, no regular rhyme, loose rhythm — orderly stanzas, unsettled lines.
Monosyllables and heavy stresses ("threw words like stones") make lines hit hard.
Similes of violence and animals (stones, iron, tigers, dogs) show how the child saw them.
Retrospective voice: the adult speaker recalls a child's fear — and perhaps sees his parents' role more critically.
The ending's echo of "smile" ("pretending to smile" / "they never smiled") ties the last stanza together.

Themes and comparisons

Class: the boundary between "my world" and theirs, built by the parents.
Fear and bullying: physical and verbal.
Envy and freedom: the rough boys have a physical liberty the protected child lacks.
Forgiveness and isolation: he wants connection, but the division holds.
Comparisons: "Childhood" (a child's-eye view), "For Heidi with Blue Hair" (young people and authority), "Follower" (parents and children).

Diapos

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Questions d'entraînement

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1.Who wrote 'My Parents'?
Easy
- AStephen Spender
- BSeamus Heaney
- CPhilip Larkin
- DA E Housman
2.What did the speaker's parents do?
Easy
- ASent him to a boarding school abroad
- BEncouraged him to fight
- CForbade him from reading
- DKept him from children who were rough
3."threw words like stones" is an example of…
Easy
- Aa rhetorical question
- Balliteration only
- Ca simile
- Donomatopoeia
4.What does 'threw words like stones' suggest?
Medium
- AThey were building a wall
- BTheir insults hurt like physical blows
- CThey were good at throwing
- DThey spoke softly
5.Which detail shows the children's poverty?
Medium
- ATheir thighs showed through rags
- BThey climbed cliffs
- CThey had muscles like iron
- DThey sprang out behind hedges
6.What does the speaker say he feared 'more than tigers'?
Medium
- AHis parents
- BThe country streams
- CThe road home
- DThe boys' muscles like iron
7.What did the boys copy behind him on the road?
Medium
- AHis clothes
- BHis laugh
- CHis lisp
- DHis walk
8.What are the boys compared to in stanza 3?
Medium
- ATigers in a cage
- BDogs barking at his world
- CBirds in a hedge
- DWolves in a forest

Plus de questions

9.What does the speaker do while they throw mud?
Medium
- ALooks the other way, pretending to smile
- BThrows mud back
- CRuns to his parents
- DShouts at them
10.What is the final line?
Medium
- AI never forgave them, and they never knew.
- BMy parents were right to keep me away.
- CI joined them in the street at last.
- DI longed to forgive them, but they never smiled.
11.What does the list 'ran in the street… climbed cliffs… stripped by the country streams' suggest?
Medium
- AThat the speaker joined them
- BThat the parents were athletes
- CA physical freedom the protected speaker may envy
- DThat the boys were criminals
12.What does 'my world' in stanza 3 imply?
Medium
- AThe poem is set in space
- BA class boundary between the speaker and the boys
- CThe speaker owns land
- DThe speaker is an astronaut
13.Why is the title 'My Parents' significant?
Medium
- AIt suggests the parents' protection shaped the division and fear
- BThe parents are the bullies
- CThe poem is a letter to them
- DIt is ironic because he has no parents
14.What is the effect of the echo 'pretending to smile' / 'they never smiled'?
Medium
- AIt makes the poem comic
- BIt shows everyone is happy
- CIt is a rhyme scheme
- DIt shows the speaker's hope of connection meeting their refusal
15.What does the word 'lithe' suggest about the boys?
Medium
- AThey are sick
- BThey are old
- CThey are agile and supple
- DThey are clumsy
16.What is the structure of the poem?
Medium
- ARhyming couplets
- BThree quatrains without regular rhyme
- CA sonnet
- DA villanelle
17.Which activities of the rough children are listed? (select all that apply)
Medium
- AClimbed cliffs
- BStripped by the country streams
- CPlayed cricket
- DWent to school
- ERan in the street
18.Which comparisons make the boys seem dangerous? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ALike dogs to bark
- Bgentle as lambs
- Cquiet as mice
- Dwords like stones
- Emuscles like iron
19.Which themes does the poem explore? (select all that apply)
Medium
- ASpace travel
- BFarming
- CClass division
- DBullying and fear
- ELonging for forgiveness
20.The speaker was kept away from rough children by his parents.
Easy
True or false?
21.The speaker fights back against the boys.
Easy
True or false?
22.The boys mock the speaker's lisp.
Easy
True or false?
23.The poem has a regular rhyme scheme.
Medium
True or false?
24.At the end, the speaker and the boys become friends.
Medium
True or false?
25.The speaker looks back on childhood as an adult.
Medium
True or false?
26.The poem suggests the speaker may envy the boys' freedom.
Medium
True or false?
27.The boys spring out from behind hedges.
Medium
True or false?
28.Match each quotation to its technique.
Medium
- threw words like stones
- I feared more than tigers
- Like dogs to bark at my world
- I longed to forgive them, but they never smiled
- Simile of violence
- Hyperbole
- Animal imagery
- Caesura and turn
29.Match each stanza to its focus.
Medium
- Stanza 1
- Stanza 2
- Stanza 3
- Description of the rough children
- The speaker's fear
- Mockery and longing to forgive
30.Put these details in the order they appear.
Medium
- They copied my lisp
- Their thighs showed through rags
- I longed to forgive them
- they sprang out behind hedges
31.Complete the line.
Easy
My parents kept me from children who were ____.
32.Complete the line.
Medium
I feared more than ____ their muscles like iron.
33.Complete the final line.
Medium
I longed to ____ them, but they never smiled.
34.What did the boys throw while the speaker looked the other way?
Easy
35.What speech difference did the boys mock?
Medium
36.Explain how Spender presents the rough children.
Medium
37.Explore the effect of the final line of 'My Parents'.
Hard

Notes de révision

## Overview - Stephen Spender (1930s). Three unrhymed **quatrains**. Adult recalls parents keeping him from **rough** children. ## Stanzas 1. "threw **words like stones**"; "torn clothes"; "thighs showed through **rags**"; ran, **climbed cliffs**, **stripped** by streams (freedom — envy?). 2. "I feared more than **tigers** their muscles like **iron**"; "**jerking** hands"; "salt coarse pointing"; "copied my **lisp**". 3. "**lithe**"; "Like **dogs** to bark at **my world**"; "threw mud"; "**pretending to smile**"; "I **longed to forgive** them, but they **never smiled**." ## Themes - Class division; fear and bullying; envy; isolation; forgiveness.

Simile: Comparison with like or as — 'words like stones'.
Hyperbole: Exaggeration — 'I feared more than tigers'.
Animal imagery: Describing people as animals — 'Like dogs'.
Quatrain: A four-line stanza.
Retrospective voice: An adult speaker looking back on childhood.
Caesura: A pause within a line — at 'but' in the last line.
Class division: Separation between social groups by wealth and status.
Lithe: Supple and agile.

Cartes mémo

Opening line?

'My parents kept me from children who were rough'.

Key simile in line 2?

'threw words like stones'.

What shows the boys' poverty?

'torn clothes', 'thighs showed through rags'.

What did the speaker fear 'more than tigers'?

The boys' 'muscles like iron'.

What did the boys mock?

His lisp.

Animal comparison in stanza 3?

'Like dogs to bark at my world'.

What did he do as they threw mud?

Looked the other way, pretending to smile.

Final line?

'I longed to forgive them, but they never smiled.'

Why is the title significant?

It points to the parents' role in building the division.

Main themes?

Class, fear and bullying, envy, isolation, forgiveness.

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