Aims

To read an unseen poem

To develop tactics to become more confident in
this element of the exam
 Nettles
Based on the title- what do you think the poem will be
about? What connotations does the title have?

Read the poem 2/3 times:

Who is the speaker
What is the poem about on the surface?
How does he feel about the topic?
What deeper concerns may the poem be about?
What key ideas /themes may the speaker be trying to
explore from this particular incident?
Nettles
My son aged three fell in the nettle bed.
'Bed' seemed a curious name for those green spears,
That regiment of spite behind the shed:
It was no place for rest. With sobs and tears
The boy came seeking comfort and I saw
White blisters beaded on his tender skin.
We soothed him till his pain was not so raw.
At last he offered us a watery grin,
And then I took my billhook, honed the blade
And went outside and slashed in fury with it
Till not a nettle in that fierce parade
Stood upright any more. And then I lit
A funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead,
But in two weeks the busy sun and rain
Had called up tall recruits behind the shed:
My son would often feel sharp wounds again.
Brainstorm any key ideas /themes of the
poem
 Themes
What themes is the poem concerned with? Create
a mind map to show how Scannell explores
themes in Nettles.

Experience
Love/protection
Suffering

Nettles

Innocence
Parenting
 Imagery
Look at the imagery used by Vernon Scannell in this poem.
What words and phrases are used to describe the nettles?

What do many of these words have in common? Why has

Scannell used this imagery to describe the nettles?
 Extended metaphor
The words used to describe the nettles are
associated with war and the military in this poem:
Green spears
Regiment of spite
Fierce parade
Fallen dead
Tall recruits
What is the combined effect of this technique?
 Explore these key images in the poem
Annotate to consider what they suggest about the
father's relationship with his son?
What is the significance of
mentioning his son's 
My son aged three fell
in the nettle bed.
Why do you think the sin
fell into the nettles?
How does this reflect on
the father?
'Bed' seemed a curious name for those green spears,
That regiment of spite behind the shed:
…I saw
White blisters beaded on his tender skin.

How do we know the father

feels great sympathy for his
son’s injury
..I took my billhook, honed the blade
And went outside and slashed in fury with it
Till not a nettle in that fierce parade
Stood upright any more
then I lit
A funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead,
 How does e feel that nature is conspiring
 against his desire to protect his child from
danger

But in two weeks the busy sun and rain

Had called up tall recruits behind the shed:
 Final line of the poem
My son would often feel sharp wounds again.
 Exploring structure
How is the poem organised on the page?
Are the lines end stopped or is enjambment used?
What is the rhyme scheme?(abab, cdcd?)
Is there a recognisable rhythm?
Is the rhythm consistent ? If it changes, what is the
effect?
Does the rhyme or rhythm link to the themes?
How?
 Exploring the rhythm and rhyming scheme

My son aged three fell in the nettle bed. a

• And then I took my billhook, honed
the blade
'Bed' seemed a curious name for those green spears, b
And went outside and slashed in fury
with it
That regiment of spite behind the shed: a
Till not a nettle in that fierce parade
It was no place for rest. With sobs and tears b Stood upright any more. And then I l
A funeral pyre to burn the fallen
The boy came seeking comfort and I saw c dead,
But in two weeks the busy sun and
White blisters beaded on his tender skin. d rain
Had called up tall recruits behind the
We soothed him till his pain was not so raw. c shed:
My son would often feel sharp
At last he offered us a watery grin, d
wounds again.
Iambic Pentameter
 
 This poem is written in iambic pentameter.
This creates the rhythm within the poem. This
means that there are five feet in each line. Each
foot contains two syllables. Traditionally, iambic
pentameter is written in the following pattern of
unstressed and stressed syllables.
Iambic pentameter often follows the natural rhythm of
speech, a little like a heartbeat.

da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum

If we apply this pattern to Vernon Scannell’s opening

line, it would be as follows:

My son aged three fell in the net tle bed

 Structure
Regular rhythm and rhyme suggests …
• a nursery rhyme sung to comfort a child.
• The inevitability of further traumas in the son’s
life.

Mainly monosyllabic words are used …

to suggest a father talking to a child
Most lines follow this pattern except Line 10
‘And went outside and slashed in fury with it’
Why would Scannell choose to break the rhythm
here?
Why might he want to draw the reader’s
attention to this particular line?
 Writing task
Explore how Scannell conveys his feelings about
parenthood in Nettles.
Use your ideas /evidence from the poem to
support your answers.
In the poem ‘Nettles’, Vernon Scannell, conveys his
feelings about parenthood whereby the poet uses the
painful incident of his son falling into a nettle-bed to
symbolise the dangers in store for the boy that the father
will not always be able to protect him from as he goes
through life .

To convey his feelings about parenthood Scannell

portrays the nettles as a metaphor for the unforeseen
dangers that occur in life. Just as he was unable to protect
his son from the pain and discomfort caused by his fall
into the nettle-bed, he realises that he will not always be
able to save his son from the inevitable pain he will
experience in life.
CREATING INTRODUCTIONS
Explore how Scannel conveys his feelings about parenthood in Nettles.

Scannel uses metaphors and vivid language to convey his feelings

about parenthood in the poem Nettles, where his young son
experiences a typical childhood accident by falling into a bed of
stinging nettles, but the father becomes very upset by it as he was
unable to protect his son against the pain this caused. Good but
could it be improved … ?

In the poem ‘Nettles’, Vernon Scannel, conveys his feelings about

parenthood whereby the poet uses the painful incident of his son
falling into a nettle-bed to symbolise the dangers in store for the boy
that the father will not always be able to protect him from as he goes
through life .
 Writing a point

In this poem the father finds the responsibilities of parenthood challenging seen in his
battle with the nettles who harm his son.
This is seen when he begins by metaphorically by referring to them as: ‘those green spears,
That regiment of spite behind the shed’.
By describing them as ‘spears’ suggests that they are dangerous, sharp weapons. Nettles
have a pointed, sharp edge just like a spear so he is reinforcing the way they can create
harm. Spears are also used to hunt and kill, so he sees the nettles as perhaps hunters
targeting his young vulnerable son.
The use of military imagery is extended as he sees them as a ‘regiment of spite’. This creates
the impression that just like a ‘regiment’, the nettles are organised and trained, they appear
to have deliberately targeted the boy with the precise intention of harming him.
Furthermore the idea that they are hiding ‘behind the shed’ implies he feels they have been
lying in wait, sneakily waiting to ambush the young boy out of ‘spite’, which again suggests
they are malicious and vindictive. Alliteration of the harsh , short repeated ‘t’ sound
reinforces his sense of the nettles’ aggression towards his son
that he feels he should have defended him against.
and feels guilty he was unable to defend against their attack.
The father feels he has failed as a parent as his son suffers pain from the nettles due to his
carelessness . He describes how ‘White blisters beaded on his tender skin.’……
……………………………………………………………………………. and because his son is ‘only three’ he feels
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Write with your partner