I Have My Father's Voice

Question 1

Structure

Answer 1

• Free verse with no apparent rhyme scheme. Creates feeling of recalling a childhood memory in a narrative manner

Question 2

Themes

Answer 2

• Synecdoche is the main tool. Father’s voice is a symbol of discipline and anger experienced in childhood
• The poet is being ironic in that he is annoyed that he was given the problem of anger but not the solution of how to express it healthily
• Chris views the anger with respect and sympathy

Question 3

Anger

Answer 3

• Child’s sense of identity is how a parent defines him
• 2 - Speaker reflects on childhood with nostalgia due to comic use of words
• 3 - Anger serves the purpose of discipline
• 4 - Anger no longer has a purpose
• The speaker has inherited his father’s voice (anger) but not the means to express it