Poem Annotation

Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
“Sins of the Father” by W.D. Ehrhart
‘Sins of the Father’ is a poem that has one stanza with an “irregular rhyme scheme.” Bullying is the main theme in the poem as the speaker. The poem is about a father reflecting on his years of bullying when his daughter comes home from school in tears. The poem employs the use of imagery when it says “walked behind her through the halls and mooed like cows.” The author uses such comparisons to appeal to the senses of the audience. The poem has a sorrowful mood. The father of a bullied daughter remembers how they nicknamed their peers and walked behind Barbara Hoffman through halls mooing like cows. This mood is also evident when the speaker ends his narration with heart touching remarks that he has nothing to do to help her suffering daughter since she is going through what he did to other parents’ children a long time ago (Ehrhart N.p). Besides, there is assonance in the first line of the poem. This assonance is brought by vowel ‘o’ in the words ‘home’ and ‘from’ in the first line of the “Sins of the Father” poem.
There are various reasons for choosing this poem. One of the reasons is that the poem is short and easy to understand. Secondly, the poem is captivating considering the countless records of bullying often have horrific endings as well as the increase of cyberbullying. It reveals the mind of the parent of the child being bullied and also the mind of that bully. The point of view is what makes this poem appealing.

Lastly, the poem message of the poem speaks volumes. Bullying hurts and may emotionally hurt someone. The poem puts the theme of bullying into perspective for everyone to understand bullying of different levels.
Work Cited
Ehrhart, W.D. “Sins Of The Father, By W.D. Ehrhart.” Alt.fifty-plus.friends.narkive.com. N.p., 2018. Web. 30 May 2018.