Father to Son Notes
Father to Son Notes
The poem 'Father to Son' discusses
the universal problem of generation gap. The elderly people fail to understand
the needs of their children. Their hardened attitude creates disaffection in
the minds of the budding youth. The youngsters become disobedient and
obstinate. Neither of them bows down to come to terms. It gives birth to family
conflicts.
The poem is quite autobiographical in
tone. In reality it talks of an exclusive personal experience of the poet for
his son.Both have lost understanding between them. The poet is trying to remove
this gap as well as feeling trouble for his carelessness. He wants to have at
cordial relationship with his son
The father complains that he does not
understand his own child. Though they have lived together for so many years now
i.e. since the time of his son's birth, the father knows nothing of him. The
father tries to build up a relationship with his son from the early years, in a
manner when his son began to recognize people around, to crawl and to walk in a
desperate attempt.
The father wonders whether he has
destroyed the seed of his off-spring or sown it where the land belongs to his
heir and none is his. Both father and son continue to speak like strangers now
and there seem no signs of understanding in the air between the two. In
traditional belief, the son is created and born to the liking and designs of
his father, yet in this case, the father cannot share what his son loves.
Most of the time silence surrounds them. The father's greatest wish is for his son to be "The Prodigal' son who will very soon return to his father's house; the home which he always knew. This is definitely the better alternative rather than to see his son move out into the world blindly on his own, by himself and fall into trouble. The father is ready to forgive him at any cost as long as he is able to reshape him up from the long bounded sorrow to a new love. Both father and son all over the world must learn to live on the same globe and on the same land.
The father finally admits that there
are times that he cannot understand himself or why his anger grows from grief?
He had some aspirations and expectations from his son.However,their
relationship has become bitter now. Their tastes too have become diagonally
opposite. The breach has become so wide that they cannot come closer. However
they have learnt to put out each other's empty hand and with each other's heart
that is longing for something to forgive.
Question:1
Does the poem talk of an exclusively personal experience or is it fairly universal?
Ans
Though the poem seems to talk exclusively of the personal experiences of a father, it is fairly universal in the problems that it addresses from the father's perspective.
At the surface, the poem communicates
the pain and helplessness of a father who wishes to mend the differences with
his son in order to be with him. However, the theme of the poem is universal.
Generation gap and lack of communication between parents and children are quite
common these days. It speaks of the pain that parents go through due to being
distanced from their children, both physically and emotionally.
Question:2
How is the father's helplessness brought out in the poem?
The helplessness of the father is
highlighted through the depiction of the emotional struggle that he undergoes.
He is aware of the problem and is willing to resolve it, but is unable to do
so. He regrets the lack of a strong emotional bond and proper communication with
his son who is also physically distanced from him.
Question:3
Identify the phrases and lines that indicate distance between father and son.
Ans
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
5. 'Silence surrounds us."
Question:4
Does the poem have a consistent rhyme scheme?
Ans
No, the poem does not follow.
consistent rhyme scheme.
