1. Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity E Activity F
Welsh writing in English
From Father to Son
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Choose a task
Choose a task based on the poem.
Activity A
Activity B
Activity C
Activity D
Activity E
Activity F
Activity G

2. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity A
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity A
What does the title of this poem suggest to you? Write down and consider all ideas.
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There is no limit to the number of times
Your father can come to life, and he is as tender as ever he was
And as poor, his overcoat buttoned to the throat,
His face blue from the wind that always blows in the outer darkness
He comes towards you, hesitant,
Unwilling to intrude and yet driven at the point of love
To this encounter.
You may think
That love is all that is left of him, but when he comes
He comes with all his winters and all his wounds.
He stands shivering in the empty street,
Cold and worn like a tramp at the end of a journey
And yet a shape of unquestioning love that you
Uneasy and hesitant of the cold touch of death
Must embrace.
Then, before you can touch him
He is gone, leaving on your fingers
A little more of his weariness
A little more of his love.
This poem was published in a collection entitled Ancestor Worship.
The date of publication was 1970, long after the poet’s father’s death.
How do these details affect your view of the title?

3. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity B
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity B
What are the two most important features of the description of the father in the first stanza? You may want to consider more but should narrow your choices to two.
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Consider the shaded words. Click to show shading.
There is no limit to the number of times
Your father can come to life, and he is as tender as ever he was
And as poor, his overcoat buttoned to the throat,
His face blue from the wind that always blows in the outer darkness
He comes towards you, hesitant,
Unwilling to intrude and yet driven at the point of love
To this encounter.
What evidence can you find in this stanza for these two main features?

4. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity C
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity C
What kind of image of the father is created in this stanza?
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The father here seems more active than the son.
Which words in this stanza show this?
Why is the present tense used?
There is no limit to the number of times
Your father can come to life, and he is as tender as ever he was
And as poor, his overcoat buttoned to the throat,
His face blue from the wind that always blows in the outer darkness
He comes towards you, hesitant,
Unwilling to intrude and yet driven at the point of love
To this encounter.

5. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity D
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity D
In the second stanza, the poet addresses the reader: ‘You may think…’ He asks us to consider our idea of memories and how we usually remember the people we love.
How is the poet’s memory of his father different?
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You may think
That love is all that is left of him, but when he comes
He comes with all his winters and all his wounds.
He stands shivering in the empty street,
Cold and worn like a tramp at the end of a journey
And yet a shape of unquestioning love that you
Uneasy and hesitant of the cold touch of death
Must embrace.
Which adjectives are used in this stanza? What do they add to your view of the father?
Look for the simile used to describe him. How do you react to this image of the poet’s father?

6. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity E
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity E
Look carefully at how the word ‘hesitant’ is used in the first two stanzas and consider why it is repeated. Which other words/phrases are repeated?
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There is no limit to the number of times
Your father can come to life, and he is as tender as ever he was
And as poor, his overcoat buttoned to the throat,
His face blue from the wind that always blows in the outer darkness
He comes towards you, hesitant,
Unwilling to intrude and yet driven at the point of love
To this encounter.
You may think
That love is all that is left of him, but when he comes
He comes with all his winters and all his wounds.
He stands shivering in the empty street,
Cold and worn like a tramp at the end of a journey
And yet a shape of unquestioning love that you
Uneasy and hesitant of the cold touch of death
Must embrace.
Consider the shaded words. Click to show shading.
The poet uses repetition deliberately to create effects.
Look at – and more importantly listen to – each of the repeated words/ phrases here.
What effect does the poet create in each case?

7. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity F
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity F
Consider how you would finish the following sentence: ‘The last stanza describes ...’ What are the important features of this stanza and how is it different from the others?
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Then, before you can touch him
He is gone, leaving on your fingers
A little more of his weariness
A little more of his love.

8. Welsh writing in English From Father to Son Activity G
– by Emyr Humphreys –
Activity G
The poem is about a father, apparently written in the voice of his son. Yet the first person is never used. Pick out the times when ‘you’ and ‘your’ are used in the poem and consider how the meaning is affected if they are changed to first person pronouns.
Why did the poet make this choice?
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There is no limit to the number of times
Your father can come to life, and he is as tender as ever he was
And as poor, his overcoat buttoned to the throat,
His face blue from the wind that always blows in the outer darkness
He comes towards you, hesitant,
Unwilling to intrude and yet driven at the point of love
To this encounter.
You may think
That love is all that is left of him, but when he comes
He comes with all his winters and all his wounds.
He stands shivering in the empty street,
Cold and worn like a tramp at the end of a journey
And yet a shape of unquestioning love that you
Uneasy and hesitant of the cold touch of death
Must embrace.
Then, before you can touch him
He is gone, leaving on your fingers
A little more of his weariness
A little more of his love.
Look back at the ideas about the title and context of the poem noted at the beginning of your study of it. You may want to reconsider these first impressions.
What kind of interaction is this between father and son?