1. What experience does the speaker share with the boy? 2. How do you know that the boy’s life has been affected by war? 3. Find two poetic techniques used in this poem.
Explore 1. In what way is the boy’s home different to your own? Make a detailed comparison.
2. ‘Young boy in your face, / every loss I can trace’. What is the speaker referring to in these lines?
3. Choose an image from the poem that you find striking. Why does it stand out to you? 4. Comment on the structure of ‘The Boy’. Is it unusual?
Create
Write a poem inspired by one of images of war below. Refer to the list of poetic techniques on page 7, as you may like to include some of these in your own poem.
