INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM TEACHING POETRY Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zerrin EREN “Growing Pain” by Vernon Scannell Özge AYGÜN 19250120 2020
Vernon Scannell (1922-2007) British formalist poet, memoirist, and novelist Vernon Scannell, whose birth name was John Vernon Bain , was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire. He served in the British Army during World War II. S cannell’s precisely scaled formal poems illuminate both domestic and wartime scenes. In 1960, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and in 1981, he was granted a Civil List pension in recognition of his services to literature. He died at the age of 85 at his home in Otley, Leeds. A selection of his papers is archived at Leeds University Library. Portrait: Charlotte Harris Vernon Scannell’s Favourite Poetry Saying “The business of poetry is to harmonise the sadness of the universe” – A E Housman Some of his Poems Graves and Resurrections (1948) A Mortal Pitch (1957) Walking Wounded (1965) Behind the Lines (2004) Growing Pain Some of his Novels Some of his Memoirs The Face of the Enemy (1961), The Tiger and the Rose (1971) The Dividing Night (1962), A Proper Gentleman (1977) Ring of Truth (1983) Drums of Morning: Growing Up in the Thirties (1992) Feminine Endings (2000) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/vernon-scannell
Analysis of the Poem “Growing Pain” Title: When I read the poem and understand its content, I see a relationship between the title and content. There is a psychological pain faced by a 5 year-old boy. As the boy is growing up, the psychological pain also begins to grow. The poem highlights the problems of growing up and the importance of a close parent-child relationship. It can be induced that pains, suffering and problems while growing up are inevitable. Detailed analysis will be provided below: Five years old boy may represent innocence and naiveness. He The boy was barely five years old . is barely out of babyhood, but he starts to grow up. When I look at the subject “we”, I induced that the narrator may We sent him to the little school be someone who the boy knows. The narrator may be the boy’s father or mother. Then, why did they call him “the boy” instead of saying “our son.” This may be because of the distant relationship between the boy and the narrator. The narrator himself/ herself can teach the boy the names of the flowers. But they sent him to the little school for this. The And left him there to learn the names narrator might be too busy to teach the boy. Maybe he/she is a Of flowers in jam jars on the sill working person. Or the narrator asks the boy to see and learn how real life is outside home. The boy is expected to learn how to do things. Maybe the narrator And learn to do as he was told. asks him to take his own responsibility to accomplish something since he is growing up. This may be the necessity of growing up. The boy seemed to be very happy and pleased with his school in He seemed quite happy there until the beginning. He probably was socializing and making some Three weeks afterwards, at night, friends in the school. The darkness here may refer to unhappiness The darkness whimpered in his room. experienced by the boy. It was at night since pains generally come to light in that time. Her e, “I” as a narrator may be the father or mother of the boy. I went upstairs, switched on his light, The boy was wide awake because maybe he could not sleep at And found him wide awake, distraught, all due to his disturbed state of mind. He made the room untidy Sheets mangled and his eiderdown because he was very worried and upset. Since he could not deal Untidy carpet on the floor. with the pain, he attacked the objects in his room.
The narrator thought that the boy was in pain physically. I said, 'Why can't you sleep? A pain?' Maybe the narrator has never thought that the boy is suffering from a psychological pain. The boy has such a serious pain that he moans. Probably he He snuffled, gave a little moan, cried a lot. Therefore, he breathed noisily. He may be feeling And then he spoke a single word: so exhausted that he could produce only single word: Jessica. 'Jessica.' The sound was blurred. Jessica may be the center of the pain for the boy; therefore, he produced only her name. Also, the way he pronounces “Jessica” may sound different and soft because he is saying someone’s name he loves. The narrator is most probably surprised to hear the word 'Jessica? What do you mean?' “Jessica.” He/ she may expect to hear a physical pain like stomachache or toothache, etc. The boy seems to fall in love with Jessica. However, he is too 'A girl at school called Jessica. young and does not know how to struggle with this situation. She hurts --' He touched himself between He may not even know that he fell in love with Jessica. He The heart and stomach '-- she has been feels this pain coming out of his inside. And he looks like Aching here and I can see her.' relating the pain to Jessica. And the pain seems to grow inside the boy. Thus, the boy can even see the pain-Jessica- along with feeling her. Maybe Jessica has been a part of the boy. Both the pain and Jessica may be included in the body of the boy, in his heart. Depending on the lines, I am of the opinion that the narrator may be the father of the boy. The father could not find Nothing I had read or heard anything to make the boy relaxed and calm. However, I Instructed me in what to do. believe that a mother could find more words to talk about love since women can be more sensitive and emotional in terms of feelings. The narrator could not deal with the boy’s pain – love- effectively. Therefore, he just wanted to touch the boy to I covered him and stroked his head. comfort him . The narrator may think that time is the only cure for the pain, 'The pain will go, in time,' I said. love. And there is nothing to overcome it. Thus, he produces this sentence.
Age: 13-14 Grade: 8 th Level: A2 Topic: Poem “Growing Pain” by Vernon Scannell Time: 45mins Methods: Communicative Language Teaching, Integrated skills based Approach Target Vocabularies: heart, stomach, eiderdown, sheets, distraught, wide awake, jam jar, flowers, sill, carpet. Objectives of the Course • Students will be able to learn some vocabularies and use them effectively with some prepositions they have learnt before. • Students will be able to think in a critical and creative way while discussing the poem. • Students will be able to gain language awareness. • Students will be able to create a short poem which helps them to improve their literacy skills and emotions. • Students will be able to dramatize the poem through personal involvement. • Students will be able to improve their communication and collaboration skills through drama activity. Materials: Pictures, Quizlet (flash-cards, games, matching activity, listen-write activity), worksheet, video, realias (dolls, jam jar), box, ball, white board and board marker. WARM-UP ACTIVITY The teacher says the students that they will learn a poem written by Vernon Scannell. And, she shares Vernon Scannell’s favorite poetry saying expressed by A.E. Housman. “The business of the poetry is to harmonize the sadness of the universe.” The teacher asks the students to discuss this saying and make guesses about the poet. One question may be “What may be the contexts of the poems written by Vernon Scannel?” Through the discussion, the students may feel ready for the poem and wonder the context of the poem.
ACTIVITY 1- FLASH-CARDS (The teacher shows the students the pictures of some vocabularies written in the poem so that the students can understand the poem better. While showing each picture, the teacher pronounces the word three times. This helps the students learn the correct pronunciations and meanings of the words. ) Following teaching vocabularies, the teacher uses Quizlet for flash-cards in order to practice and reinforce the knowledge of vocabularies. A sample of flash-cards for one of the vocabularies is given below: ACTIVITY 2- MATCHING Following the Flash-cards, the teacher elaborates Matching activity on Quizlet. This activity also aims to encourage the students to internalize the vocabularies. Since the students enjoy online activities, this can be motivating for them. The matching activity is given below:
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