My father thought it bloody queer,the day I rolled home with a ring of silver in

my ear

half hidden by a mop of hair. “You’ve lost your head.

If that’s how easily you’re ledYou should’ve had it through your nose

instead.”Starting with these words shows focus is on relationship with father and his reaction, not just the event of the piercing.

My father thought it bloody queer,the day I rolled home with a ring of silver in

my ear

half hidden by a mop of hair. “You’ve lost your head.

If that’s how easily you’re ledYou should’ve had it through your nose

instead.”

Shows father’s down-to-earth attitude. Double meaning.

My father thought it bloody queer,the day I rolled home with a ring of silver in

my ear

half hidden by a mop of hair. “You’ve lost your head.

If that’s how easily you’re ledYou should’ve had it through your nose

instead.” What is he comparing his son to?

And even then I hadn’t had the nerve to numbthe lobe with ice, then drive a needle through the

skin,then wear a safety- pin. It took a jeweller’s gunto pierce the flesh, and then a friendto thread a sleeper in, and where it sleptthe hole became a sore, became a wound, and

wept.Contrasts his feeble approach with that of others who pierced their own ears. Makes fun of himself. Is he also ashamed of his cowardice? It’s not a very successful teenage rebellion…

And even then I hadn’t had the nerve to numbthe lobe with ice, then drive a needle through

the skin,then wear a safety- pin. It took a jeweller’s gunto pierce the flesh, and then a friendto thread a sleeper in, and where it sleptthe hole became a sore, became a wound, and

wept.

What do these words imply?

At twenty-nine, it comes as no surprise to hearmy own voice breaking like a tear, released like

water,cried from way back in the spiral of the ear. If I

were you,I’d take it out and leave it out next year.

This is his voice – but it sounds like what his father might have said. Has he come to share his father’s values? Is removing the earring a sign of maturity? Or a sign that he is now ready to conform?

He couldn’t admit the mistake he had made at the time. Why?

Themes

• Son trying to be independent, father disapproving

• Humorous tone and rhymes, but shows pain in remembering his adolescence

• Could be a trivial subject, but shows how his attempt at rebellion was not very successful

Structure

• 3 part structure: first 2 stanzas show what happened in the past, last stanza brings poet up to date with what the event means to the poet when he is 29

• Conversational style, with very frequent irregular rhymes, which emphasize key words: queer/ear, hear/year

Comparisons

• Relationship between parent/child figures:

“Mother, any distance…”, “On My First Sonne”, “Kid”.• People whose actions do not please

others: “My Last Duchess”.