How did you feel while and after reading this poem? Explain your answer.
Choose the three most powerful images in the poem and explain how they affected you.
The poet repeats certain words in the poem (repetition). Pick out two examples of repetition in the poem and explain its effect on you.
SPEAK
Working with a classmate, do a dramatic reading of the poem together. Take it in turns to read and act; while one person reads, the other can act out the various images from the poem.
CREATE
Write a description of an uncomfortable sensation (a smell, a taste, a feeling, a sound, a sight). Your aim here is to make the people who are reading or listening to your description experience this sensation and to feel uncomfortable.
Now read out your description to another classmate and ask them to rate their discomfort on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most uncomfortable. Use each other’s feedback to redraft and improve your work.
POET PROFILE Name: Spike Milligan (1918–2002)
Nationality: English Fact:
‘Spike’ Milligan’s real first name was Terence. He started calling himself ‘Spike’ after hearing a band on the radio called 'Spike Jones and His City Slickers'.
Onomatopoeia is an example of how sound is used to convey meaning. It is used to great effect in this poem by Milligan.
