Activity 1

Find expressions in the poem that match the meanings given below.

1 Any father is ___________ ______________ __________ __________

2 Take it away __________ ______________

3 Not on your life! _____________ __________ your ______________

4 Catch him or take him away __________ ____________

5 Any place or anywhere ___________ ____________ _____________

6 Came to visit _________ on _____________ ___________

7 The best __________ ____________

8 A dangerous creature created by someone ________________ ______________

9 Say hello _______________ ____________________

10 Middle of the night _______________ of ______________

____________

Activity 2

Answer the following questions.

1 What is this child telling us?

______________________________________________________________

2 What are some of the 'horrors' mentioned in this poetry?

i._____________________________________

ii. ._____________________________________

iii._____________________________________

iv ._____________________________________

v ._____________________________________
3 Explain these phrases.

i. 'dead of the night' means ______

ii. 'under the sun' means _

iii. 'late night film' means _

iv. 'full of horrors' means _

vi. 'not on your Nelly!' means _

v. 'defeat 'em' means _

vi. 'ready to prove it' means _

4 What would the persona's father do if he met ghosts?

_______________________________________________________________

5 What is dad most afraid of?

_______________________________________________________________

6 What well-known monsters are mentioned in this poem?

_______________________________________________________________

7 When does dad need Mum's help? Why?

_______________________________________________________________
Activity
Activity 4
Activity 5

Write True (T) or False (F) for each of the statements below.

1. The persona, like his father, has a liking for ghoulish movies.

2. The persona feels his father is not as brave as other fathers.

3. The main theme in the poem is that of parent-child relationship.

4. Most people shy away from ghostly figures but not the persona's father.

5. The father is not likely to encourage the persona to watch horror movies.

6. Vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein monsters are figments of the imagination.

7. The persona's family has a phobia of spiders.

8. Only heroes can deal with unexpected horrors but they have weaknesses too.

9. All fathers are brave enough to greet ghostly figures that come knocking on their door.

10. The persona takes pride in his father and hero-worships him.
PT3 PRACTICES