Elizabeth Jennings
5 FATAER TO SON
4BOLI THE POET& HER 4GE
Elizabeth Jennings (1926-2001) belongs to the
traditional, As
eraof modern poetry, vet her style is
clarity of style
a British poet, she is known for her
and love for delineating human nelationships in her
poetry. She does not display too much complexity in
her poetry, as is generally found in the contemporary
which do not
Poets. She even uses mete and rhyme
|find favour with poets like TS, Eliot and Ezra Pound.
But one is drawn towards her poetry by its sheer
lrical charm, simplicity and clarity.
ABOU TTHE POEM
Father to Son' articulates a father's lament over
the chasm that has developed in his relationship with
his son. He feels that he and his son have become
strangers to each other. His onlywish is to put an
end to this strangeness. Thus, the poem brings out
what we call
in poigmant terms the consequences of
generation gap.
SUMM4RI
The father is unhappy because he does not
understand his own son, though they have been
|living together since his son's birth. Now, he
tries
to his
again to feel the pulse of his son by going back
son's childhood days. He is hopeful that he can glean
some lost points from that age. He compares his son
seems to be a
to a plant. He is grown up now and
stranger.
Though the son has grown up as wished by the
|father. even then there is no compatability between
and
the two. Father is not happy to see his son
|himself living like strangers. He would like him to
that
waste all his money and come back home so
|the severed links can be cemented again. Hle hopes
|the son would come to him, and he would readily
forgive him for his lapses. A new relationship based
on mutual love would then blossom again.
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PARAPHR ASE OF THE POEI
own son,
(Lines 1-6): Ido not understand my
though we have been living together in
the same
house for years. I know nothing about him. So I try
to his childhood days.
to relate to him by going backkilled the seed I had
(Lines 7 - 12) : Have I
planted ? We speak like strangers. There
is no sign of
understanding between the two. The son has not
grown
up as wished by me, and yet what
he likes I do
like.
(Lines 13 - 18): There is no
communication
prodigal in
between us. I wish my son (like the
making his own
the story) come back, rather than forgive
different world and living in that. Iam ready to
him.
him and form acordial relationship with
both
(Lines 19 - 24) : Being father and son, we
have to live in the same place and in the
same world.
I do not
When he speaks, Ifail to understand him.
knowwhy anger grows from grief. Each of
us extends
an "empty" hand to rebuild a new
relationship. We
look for something to forgive each other.
THEME
The poem brings home the agony of break
up in a loving relationship. The gap in age and
moral values leads to aclash of personalities. The
relationship of father and son is close, sacred and
cherished. But it may break up due torigid attitudes,
lack of understanding and respect, or bad social
influences. In the poem, the father longs for the same
relationship with his son as he enjoyed during his
son's childhood. He is ready to forgive hisson and
wishes a rapprochement. But he feels helpless to
break the ice.
LITERARY DELICES
Irony
There are some obvious instances of situational
irony in the poem:
(i) The father and son live in the same house, and
yet they are strangers.
Evergreen Literature Companion - 11

i) Each wants a rapprochement but ends up
causing further drift and alienation.
(ii) Although the father has brought up the child
well, he does not know why the son feels
alienated from him.
Allusion
"I would have/Him prodigal, returning to/His
ather's house." This isa reference to the Biblical story
of the prodigal son who is accepted by his father on
his returning home after wastingall his money.
COMMENTARY
(a) This child is built to my design"
STANZAS FOR COMPREHENSION
Read the following extracts and answer any
three of the questions that follow :
1. Ido not understand this child
Though we have lived together now
In the same house for years. I know
Nothing of him, so try to buld
Up arelationship from how
He was when small.
(a) Who is a stranger in the house ?
(b) What does the speaker try to build ?
(c) What does the speaker long ?
|Ans. (a) The stranger is the father.
(b) The speaker tries ánew to create the
relationship with his son from the period
when his son was a smallchild.
(c) The speaker longs for rapprochement with
the son.
2. Yet have I killed
The seed Ispent or sownit where
The land is his and none of mine ?
We speak like strangers, there's no sign
Of understanding in the air.
This child is built to mydesign
Yet what he loves Icannot share.
Evergreen Literature Companion - 11
up his child|
The father believes that he brought understand
as he wanted him to. He fails to
whyhe has turned up as he is.
(b) "He speaks: Icannot understand". between the
This line reveals the total alienation
understanding
father and his son. The bond of
father does
has broken. What the son says the
not understand.
(c) "Why anger grows from grief?
In grief, man feels as if he
were the victim
feeling of
of undeserved injustice. This Thus,
victimization often makes him angry.
anger growsfrom grief.
(a) Why is the speaker repentant ?
(b) What is the regret of the speaker ?
(c) The seed Ispent or sown ... '. Which
poetic device is used here ?
Ans. (a) The speaker is repentant because he thinks
he has killed the seed or planted it on the
land which is not his (the speaker's).
(b) The speaker's regret is that both he and his
son behave like strangers.
(c) It is metaphor.
3. Silence surrounds us. Iwould haue
Him prodigal, returning to
His father's house, the home he knew,
Rather than see him make and move
His world. I would forgive him too.
Shaping from sorrow a new love.
(a) 'Silence surrounds us.' What does it
denote?
(b) Why does silence surround them ?
(d) What does the father desire ?
Ans. (a) lt denotes emotional gap in the relationship.
(b) Silence surrounds them because though they
have been living together for years, there is
no understanding between them.
(c) The father desires to forgive his son.
 4. Father and son, we both must
live
On the same globe and the same land,
He speaks: I cannot understand
Myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive.
(a) What is the father's problem ?
(b) How does the father feel at his son's
attitude?
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q.1. Does the poem talk of an exclusively
personal experience or is it fairly
universal ? (TBQ)
Ans. The fathers experience in the poem is fairly
universal. The rift between the father and
son is now a common experience. We call
it a 'generation gap'. A father who belongs
toa different generation fails to understand
and appreciate his son's values and ways of
Iife that belong to different times. Similarly, a
son resents his father's effortsto impose his
values on him. So both become strangers
Iiving under the same roof, though at times
both want to come together again in the spirit
of mutual love and trust.
Q.2. How is the father's helplessness brought
out in the poem? (TBQ)
Ans. The father's helplessness is poignantly brought
out in the poem. He regrets that both he
and his son have become strangers to each
other, though they live together. Hefails
to understand why his son is behaving like
a stranger to him. He longs for his return
to him like the prodigal son. The last two
lines "We each put out an empty hand,/
Longing for something to forgive"-express
his helplessness in evocative terms.
Q.3. ldentify the phrases and lines that
indicate distance between the father
and son. (TBQ)
Ans. (i) I do not understand this child
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(c) What does the father long for ?
Ans. (a) The father's problem is that he fails to
understand his son's feelings.
(6) Hefeels angry at his son's attitude.
(c) He feels rapprochement with his son.
(ii) Iknow nothing of him
(ii) We speak like strangers
(iv) Yet what he loves I cannot share
(u) He speaks : Icannot understand
(ui) We each put out anempty hand/Longing
for something to forgive.
Q.4. Does the poem have a consistent rhyme
scheme? (TBQ)
Ans. Yes, there is a consistent rhyme scheme
abbaba.
Q.5. What is the problem of the father ?
Ans. The father in the poem is quite sad and at
times angry. His problem is that he shares the
roof with his son but he has no dialogue with
him. Heand his son fail to understand each
other. They have different temperaments and
attitudes.
O.6. What does the father want?
Ans. The father wants to bridge the gap between
him and his son. He wants to have a rapport
with him. He is ready to forgive his son if he
returns to him and relents. He wants to share
his love and beliefs. He does not want that
both of them should live like strangers under
the samne roof.
Q.7. What is the irony of the situation ?
Ans. The father recognises the fact that though
hisson hasgrown up as per his desires and
directions, even then he does not understand
his son's emotions.
Evergreen Literature Companion -11
 Q.8. What does the line "silence surrounds
us" stand for ?
This line stands for the chill in the relation
Ans.
between the father and the son. Though they
have been living together for the last so many
years, there is no warmth in their relationship.
Q.9. Does the father really wish his son to be
prodigal?
Ans. Literally. it means 'yes'. But in reality, the
father longs for the betterment of his son. As
a father. he doesn't want any gap between his
son and him. He is ready to doanything to
win his son back.
o.10. Why is the father angry ?
Ans. The father is unable to understand the
emotions of his son. This inability leads to
grief which eventually results in anger. In
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q.1. "We speak like strangers, there's
no sign/of understanding in the air."
Keeping in view these words of a
helpless and desperate father, write a
diary entry about the ideal father-son
relationship in your eyes in about 120
150 words.
Ans. October 14. 20..
10 p.m.
I am highly mnoved by the father's
helplessness brought out in the poem 'Father
to Son.' I can visualize the son's plight
too. He can't be happy either. This kind of
relationship is pathetic - the two persons
living like strangers under one roof. Iknow
one or two families in which father and
Son are not on speaking terms. Ithink the
problem arises when both the parties lack
emotional attachment and lose mutual
affection and trust.
Afather should treat his son like a friend,
especially when he is grown-up. He should
try to understand his problems and solve
them in a friendly way. He should let him
Evergreen Literature Companion - 11
fact, this anger is the externalization of self
accusation.
Q.11. Does the poem talk of an exclusively
personal experience or is it fairly
universal ?
Ans. No doubt, the poem starts with an
autobiographical touch but, as a work of art,
it transcends barriers of time and place. lt
relates to the universal problem of generation
gap, which has embittered the relations
between generations-senior and junior.
Q.12. How is the father's helplessness brought
out in the poem ?
Ans. The father's helplessness is brought out quite
clearly in this poem. He has brought up his
son in the way he wanted, but he is unlucky
not to understand his emotions. Though they
have been livingunder the same roof for
years together, yet they are strangers to each
other.
take his own decisions. Of course, he should
make him realize the pros and cons of each
thing. Moreover, he should stop expecting
much. Similarly, a son should try to respect
his father's feelings. He should listen to him
patiently. He must share his interests with him
and seek his guidance. He should not react
angrily in haste. If both behave in mature
manner there can be no problem. They will
enjoy a good relationship for years.
Q.2. Father to Son' brings home the agony
of break-up in a loving relationship.
Suppose you are the son. What would
you do for a rapproachement with your
father ? Write a paragraph on it in
about 120-150 words.
Ans. I know it is not easy to break the ice once
a relationship is totally collapsed. First of
all, Iwould think over the whole problem. I
would like to knowwhat my father expected
of me and why Icould not come up to
his expectation. Iwould also like to know
my own expectations and where my father
failed. Having arrived at some definite
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