"Father to Son" By Elizabeth Jennings

2. Elizabeth Jennings, in full Elizabeth Joan Jennings (born July 18, 1926, Boston, Lincolnshire, England—
died October 26, 2001, Brampton, Oxford shire) English poet whose works relate intensely personal matters in
a plainspoken, traditional, and objective style and whose verse frequently reflects her devout Roman
Catholicism and her love of Italy.
Jennings was educated at Oxford High School and St. Anne’s College, Oxford. Her first pamphlet, Poems,
appeared in 1953, followed by A Way of Looking (1955), which won her a Somerset Maugham Award and
enabled her to visit Italy. Song for a Birth or a Death (1961) marked a new development, with its confessional
tone and more savage view of love. Some of the best of her later poems concern her nervous breakdown and
its aftermath, such as those collected in Recoveries (1964) and The Mind Has Mountains (1966). Other works
include The Animals’ Arrival (1969), Lucidities (1970), Relationships (1972), Extending the Territory (1985),
and Familiar Spirits (1994). A translation, The Sonnets of Michelangelo (1961), was revised in 1969. She also
published poetry for children. In 1992 Jennings was made a Commander of the British Empire.

4. The poem ‘Father to son’ is a sad plea of a father to his son. The father
is filled with sadness at the growing distance between him and his son.
He wants to make amends for all the mistakes that he has made.
Elizabeth Jennings highlights the universal problem of generation gap
through the words of a father. They think and live differently. They have
become strangers to each other. In spite of an urge for reunion, the
separation continues and can’t be helped.

5. I do not understand this child
Though we have lived together now
In the same house for years. I know
Nothing of him, so try to build
Up a relationship from how
He was when small.
The father says, that he doesn’t understand his child though they have lived in
the same house together for years. He knows nothing about his child. So, the
fathertriesto buildupa relationshipwithhissonfromtheearlyyears.
Thefatherwantsto beginfromscratchagain.
Thegapbetweenthefatherandsonis highlightedby thewords‘thischild’.The
fatherdoesn’tevennamehisSon.

6. Yet have I killed
The seed I spent or sown it 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 my design
Yet what he loves I cannot share.
Thefatherwondersif hehaskilledtheseedwhichis hisor hassownit wherethelandbelongs
to thesonandnotthefather.It meansthatthefatherwondersif it allis hismistakeor somehow
hetriedto takehissonona pathwhichthesonneverwantedto pursue.Maybethesonwasforced
to andthushestoppedlisteningto hisfather.
Both–of themtalkliketotalstrangersandtherearenosignsof understandingbetweenthem.
Thebondbetweenfatherandsonis a verystrongbondtraditionally,butin thiscasethefather
saysthathissonresembleshim,yetwhatthesonlikes,thefatherdislikes.Thefathercannotshare
thelovesof hisson.

7. Silence surrounds us. I would have
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.
There is no dialogue between the father and the son. Silence surrounds them. The father now
becomes somewhat selfish. He wishes that his son would be prodigal and then will return to his
father’s house, the house he always knew. It means that the father wants his son to give respect
to his father’s wishes. This would be a much better scenario than to see his control his world.
Now, the tone of the father gets a bit arrogant. He wants the son to ask for forgiveness and
the father would forgive him too. So that, a new understanding could be developed from
sadness.
In this stanza, the father seems to be angry with his son. He displays a self-centered wish to
have control over his son.

8. 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.
Boththefatherandsonmustliveonthesameglobeandthesameland.It meansthattheymusthavesame
thinkingandthesamelevelofunderstandingforeachother’sthoughtsandwishes.
Thesonsaysthathecannotunderstandwhatthefatherwantsandthefathersaysthatheisunableto
understandwhyhisangergrowsfromgrief.Thefatherhereisfrustrated.
Still,theybothwanttoreconcile.Theyputoutanemptyhandforfriendship.Theybothlongforsomethingto
forgive.Buttheirhandsareemptyastheyfailtoreignitethefather-sonbond.

9. 1. Does the poemtalkof an exclusivelypersonal experience or is it fairly
universal?
Answer: The poemdoes talk of an exclusivelypersonal experience.However, we
can also call it fairlyuniversalbecause a conflict like this is quitecommon in
manyhouseholds. It is also known as generationgap.
2. How is the father’s helplessness brought out in the poem?
Answer: The helplessness of the father is highlighted throughthe depiction of the
emotional strugglethat he undergoes. He is aware of the problemand is willing to resolve
it, but is unable to do so. He regretsthe lack of a strong emotional bond and proper
communication withhis son who is also physicallydistancedfrom him.

10. 3. Identify the phrases and lines that indicate distance
between father and son.
Answer: Phrases/lines that indicate distance between the
father and the son are:
1. ‘I do not understand this child’
2. ‘I know / Nothing of him’
3. ‘We speak like strangers’
4. ‘there’s no sign/ Of understanding in the air’5. ‘Silence
surrounds us.’
4. Does the poem have a consistent rhyme scheme?
Answer: No, the poem does not follow a consistent rhyme
scheme.