Starter: what do seeds represent?

The Seed-Merchant’s SonAgnes Grozier Herbertson

The Seed-Merchant’s Son

The Seed-Merchant has lost his son,His dear, his loved, his only one.

So young he was, even now it seemsHe was a child with a child’s dreams.

He would race over the meadow-bedWith his bright, bright eyes and his cheeks all red.

Fair and healthy and long of limb;It made one young just to look at him.

His school books, unto the cupboard thrust,Have scarcely had time to gather dust.

Died in the war….And it seems his eyesMust have looked at death with a child’s surprise.

The Seed-Merchant goes on his way:I saw him out on his land today;

Old to have fathered so young a son,And now the last glint of his youth is gone.

seed-merchant -- implies the theme of life continuing – seeds are a symbol of new life.

This poem talks about

the effect that the war had

on family and society by using the

example of a father losing

his son. 

the pronoun (his) and the pattern of 3 highlights the strong bond between the two.

innocence

Died very young; a loss of youth/potential

Is the father moving on?

What could one say to him in his need?Little there seemed to say indeed.

So still he was that the birds flew roundThe grey of his head without a sound,

Careless and tranquil in the air,As if naught human were standing there.

On, never a soul could understandWhy he looked at the earth, and the seed in his hand,

As he had never before seen seed or sod:I heard him murmur: ‘Thank God, thank God!’

Rhetorical ? – effect: makes us feel sympathy as he is grieving

Imagery: very still and dull; makes us think of a corpse.the line ‘so still he was that the birds flew round’ shows that he couldn’t continue his day to day life anymore, representing how families were affected during war. 

He could be relating his son to a seed; with the idea that all nature is renewed, he could be thinking his son’s life or ‘soul’ will also be renewed. He could have accepted that it was fate/his time to die. The line ‘never before seen or sod’ shows that he is seeing his son’s death in a new light. 

What surprises us about this phrase at the very end?

CONTENT AND THEME

• The poet chose to make the subject of her poem the son of someone who grows and sells seeds. Why do you think she chose this particular occupation?

• Which facts about the boy and his life emphasise his youth?

• How has his father reacted to his death?

IMAGERY

Focus on the imagery and language used to emphasise and convey the boy’s youth and his father’s sense of loss.

How do the following suggest youth?Choose which you think is most powerful and write up into a PEE paragraph answering how the phrase suggests youth.

• ‘child with a child’s dream’ • ‘bright eyes’• ‘cheeks all red’• ‘with a child’s surprise• ‘last glint of his youth is gone’• ‘the grey of his head’

LANGUAGE

1. The poet uses repetition and alliteration in the poem. What effect do the following examples have in the poem?

• ‘His dear, his loved, his only one’

• ‘bright, bright eyes’

• ‘long of limb’

• ‘So still’

Explain how the words in each phrase have an effect in the audience? What do we think/feel? 4 separate sentences

STRUCTURE

1. How does the structure of the poem reflect the themes of youth and age? Look at stanzas and rhyme

2. Why do you think the poet chose a two-line stanza in rhyming couplets? Did you find this effective?

PERSONAL RESPONSE

The ending of the poem is mysterious. What do you think the Seed-Merchant meant when he said ‘Thank God, thank God!’? Consider some of the following possibilities and choose the one you find most convincing.

He is glad that he had a son to sacrifice in the war. He is glad that life can still go on by his planting more

seeds. He is stunned with grief and doesn’t really know what he is

saying. He thanks God that he had a son, even for a short time. He thought that life was over but realises that it is not when

he looks at the seed.

Do you have another interpretation of his words.