INTRODUCTION TO POETRY

MY HERO

ELEMENT OF POEM
1. Setting
Place, time and social environment of the poem
#Where and when is the poem set?
# How does the setting influence the poem?
2. Persona
The speaker or 'I' in the poem
# Whose 'voice' is heard in the poem?
# How many voices are there in the poem?
3. .
Theme
The central idea or subject of the poem
# What is the theme of the poem?
# What is the poem about?

4. Messages
The idea the poet wants to convey in the poem
# What message can you draw from the poem?
# Describe two messages you get from the poem.
5. Moral Value
The values the poem teaches you
# What are the moral values conveyed in the poem?
# What values did the persona display?
6. Language and style
The way the poet writes the poem
# Is the poem in one or two stanzas?
# Does the poet use figurative language?

MY HERO BY WILIS HALL

1. Setting
*Place : Not specified, except for the bathroom.
*Time : The present
2. Persona
*Intelligent and observant child.
3. Themes
* Children cannot be fooled
*Parents must be honest and realistic with their children.
*Heroes in fact and fantasy
4. Moral Values
*Honesty and integrity
*Humility
*Moderation
5. Tone and mood
*Tone : humorous, ironic
*Mood : light, playful

6. Language and style

*The poem has five stanzas of four lines each.
*The second and fourth lines of each verse rhyme.
* Literary devices: contrast, rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, irony,
rhetorical question, hyperbole

The Poet : Willis Hall

* Born in Leeds, Britain on 6April 1929 and died in Ilkley on 7
March 2005
* Educated at Leeds Cockburn High School
* Had a passion for writing and from early teens, wrote for local
magazines and papers.
OVERVIEW OF 'MY HERO'
The poem is for both children and adults.
With pride, the persona first recounts how heroic the father
is. 'Dad' is unafraid of anything including mythical monsters.
Therefore, dad is the persona's 'Number One' hero.
However, the rhetorical question in the last ttwoo lines of
the poem shows the persona's curiousity and puzzlement
because the heroic father is afraid of a spider. In fact, the
persona's mother has to remove the spider.

MEANING OF VERSES
VERSE 1
The persona proclaims that the father (dad) is a very brave man.
The persona salutes him as the 'Number One' hero who is not
afraid of the dark or anything on earth.
VERSE 2
The persona states that dad is unafraid of late-night horror movies
or skeletons. The phrase 'not on your Nelly' is a slang phrase which
means 'not on your life' and emphasises the bravery of dad.
VERSE 3
Dad is fearless when meeting ghosts. He will even smile and talk to
the ghosts. He can defeat things that frighten other dads.

VERSE 4
The persona's dad is not afraid of monsters like vampires,
werewolves ('wolf-man') or Frankeinstein's monster.
VERSE 5
The persona's dad is always eager to prove that he is brave.
However, in the last last two lines, the persona wonders why the
heroic dad is afraid of a spider in the 'bath' (bathtub), and needs
Mum to remove it.
SEETTING
Place : Not specified; only the bathroom is mentioned.
Time : The present

PERSONA
The persona is the 'voice' in the poem - 'I' and 'my' of the poem.
The persona's father is referred to as 'dad', 'he' and ''him'.
The persona is an intelligent and observant child.
THEME
1. Children cannot be fooled
In modern times, children are exposed to a lot of information and
technological advances, so they are sometimes able to make
intelligent judgements. Thus, they are not so easily fooled.
The persona is able to question why it is 'Mum' who has to remove
the spider in the bathtub even though 'dad's as brave as a dad can
be.
2. PARENTS MUST BE HONEST AND REALISTIC WITH THEIR
CHILDREN
Some parents are afraid of being exposed as weak and vulnerable in
front of their children. As such, they may lie, pretend or fantasise
to protect their own ego. However, not all children arre so gullible.
Children can see through the web of llies and pretence.