Name: _________________ Date: ______________
Timothy Winters
Timothy Winters comes to school
With eyes as wide as a football-pool,
Ears like bombs and teeth like splinters:
A blitz of a boy is Timothy Winters.
His belly is white, his neck is dark,
And his hair is an exclamation-mark.
His clothes are enough to scare a crow
And through his britches the blue winds blow.
When teacher talks he won't hear a word
And he shoots down dead the arithmetic-bird,
He licks the pattern off his plate
And he's not even heard of the Welfare State.
Timothy Winters has bloody feet
And he lives in a house on Suez Street,
He sleeps in a sack on the kitchen floor
And they say there aren't boys like him anymore.
Old Man Winters likes his beer
And his missus ran off with a bombardier,
Grandma sits in the grate with a gin
And Timothy's dosed with an aspirin.
The Welfare Worker lies awake
But the law's as tricky as a ten-foot snake,
So Timothy Winters drinks his cup
And slowly goes on growing up.
At Morning Prayers the Master helves
for children less fortunate than ourselves,
And the loudest response in the room is when
Timothy Winters roars "Amen!"
So come one angel, come on ten
Timothy Winters says "Amen
Amen amen amen amen."
Timothy Winters, Lord.
Amen!
Charles Causley
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Name: ____________________ 22 February, 2023
1) What effect does it create to describe Timothy’s hair as an exclamation-mark? What poetic device is
being used here?
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2) In stanza 2, it says ‘He licks the pattern off his plate And he’s not even heard of the Welfare State”,
what does this say about Timothy’s situation and society’s situation in regards to the Welfare State’s
help?
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3) What does this line mean, “And they say there aren’t boys like him anymore”? [stanza 4]
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4) How is Timothy’s living situation in terms of his house and family relationships? Provide evidence
to support your answer.
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5) “The welfare Worker lies awake But the law’s as tricky as a ten-foot snake,” what do these lines
imply about society and the welfare worker involved?
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6) Describe Timothy’s reactions/responses in the 6th and 7th stanza when it comes to praying, what
does this tell us about his attitude?
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7) Based on how Timothy Winters is described, what kind of image does this create in terms of the
audience’s perception of Timothy? Provide evidence to support your answer.
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8) Timothy’s presence and very existence is being labeled as a Blitz, what does that say about society’s
view towards Timothy? What effect does it create to compare him to a wartime attack?
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