My Hero

By Willis Hall

My Hero

My dad’s as brave as a dad can be,

I rate him Number One,
He’s not afraid of the dead of night,
Or anything under the sun.

He’s not afraid of a late-night film,

Full of horrors on the telly,
And is he afraid of skeletons?
Not dad, not on your Nelly!

He’s not afraid of meeting ghosts,

He’d even smile and greet ‘em,
And things that scare most dads the most,
My dad could just defeat ‘em.

He’s not afraid of vampires,

Or a wolf-man come to get him,
If Frankenstein’s monster knocked on our door,
He wouldn’t let that upset him.

My dad’s as brave as a dad can be,

And he’s always ready to prove it.
So why, when a spider’s in the bath,
Does Mum have to come and remove it?
 Stanza One
Line no. Line Interpretation
1 My dad’s as brave as a dad can be The persona makes a statement about
his/her father as a brave/courageous
person (a father is normally brave)
2 I rate him Number One, In his/her opinion, his/her father is the best
3 He’s not afraid of the dead of night, His/her father is not scared of the quietest
and darkest part of the night
4 Or anything under the sun. Or anything that exists around us. (It can
also mean that his/her father is not afraid
of anything during the day)

Stanza Two
Line no. Line
1 He’s not afraid of a late-night film,
2 Full of horrors on the telly,
3 And is he afraid of skeletons?
4 Not dad, not on your Nelly!
Interpretation
The persona’s father is not scared of
watching horror movies on television late
at night
He is also definitely not scared of
skeletons. (“not on your Nelly!” is a British
expression which means “Certainly not!”)

Stanza Three
Line no. Line
1 He’s not afraid of meeting ghosts,
2 He’d even smile and greet ‘em,
3 And things that scare most dads the most,
4 My dad could just defeat ‘em.
Interpretation
The persona’s father does not fear
meeting ghosts (something that most of us
are scared of)
He can even smile and greet or talk to the
ghosts.
(‘em – informal British or American, short
form of ‘them’)
His/her father can also beat/overcome
many things or problems that other fathers
are afraid of/cannot do.

Stanza Four
Line no. Line Interpretation
1 He’s not afraid of vampires, The persona’s father does not fear
vampires
2 Or a wolf-man come to get him, Or a wolf-man that is going to attack him
3 If Frankenstein’s monster knocked on our He would not be worried or scared even if
door, the horrible Frankenstein’s monster came
4 He wouldn’t let that upset him. to their house.

Stanza Five
Line no. Line Interpretation
 1 My dad’s as brave as a dad can be,
2 And he’s always ready to prove it.
3 So why, when a spider’s in the bath,
4 Does Mum have to come and remove it?
The persona makes a statement about
his/her father as a brave/courageous
person (a father is normally brave) – it is
repeated to emphasize his father’s
bravery/courage
He is willing and confident to show his
bravery/courage
The persona admires his/her father and is
proud of him, but he/she cannot
understand why his/her mother has to get
rid of a spider (just a small insect) that is in
the bathtub.
(Perhaps, his/her father is scared of tiny
insects!)

IS NOT AFRAID OF… IS AFRAID OF…

DAD
STANZA 1
 The darkness or quietness of the night
 Anything or everything around him /during the STANZA 5
day  Spider
STANZA 2
 Horror movies on television at night
 Skeletons
STANZA 3
 Ghosts
 Things that scare other fathers
STANZA 4
 Vampires
 Wolf-man
 Frankenstein’s monster

THEMES:
 Bravery / Courage
 Heroism
 Admiration
 Father and child
 Leadership by example

MORAL VALUES:
 Bravery / Courage
 Admiration
 Confidence
 Love
 Respect
 Helpfulness
MORAL LESSONS:
 We should appreciate the qualities of our fathers
 We have to be brave/courageous in any situation
 We should show good examples to others
 Parents are brave/courageous in their own ways
 Family unity is important
 We should show our gratitude to our parents by helping them

PRACTICE 1

STANZA 1

1. Which line suggests that the persona thinks of his father as the best hero?
__________________________________________________________
2. What is the meaning of “the dead of night”?
__________________________________________________________

STANZA 2

1. List two things that do not scare the persona’s father.

(i) ____________________________________________________
(ii) ____________________________________________________
2. Which line tells us that the persona is confident about his father’s bravery?
__________________________________________________________

STANZA 3

1. What would the persona’s father do to prove that he is not afraid of ghosts?
____________________________________________________________
2. Which line suggests that his father is better than other fathers?
____________________________________________________________

STANZA 4

1. List the three types of monsters mentioned in this stanza.

(i) ______________________________________________________
(ii) ______________________________________________________
(iii) ______________________________________________________
2. The word “him” refers to ________________________________________

STANZA 5

1. Which line suggests that the persona’s father is very confident?

____________________________________________________________
2. What does his mother have to do in the bathroom?
 ____________________________________________________________

PRACTICE 2 (HOTS Questions)

1. Who do you think the persona is talking to about his father? Why?
____________________________________________________________

2. How does the persona know that his father is not afraid of watching horror movies late at night?
_____________________________________________________________

3. In your opinion, which line is the best description of his father’s bravery? Why?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

4. What would his father do to the monsters (in stanza 4)? How?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

5. Why do you think the persona’s mother has to remove the spider in the bathtub?
_____________________________________________________________
6. Suggest two ways to show your appreciation to your father.
(i) _______________________________________________________
(ii) _______________________________________________________
7. Apart from your father, who would you consider your hero? Why?
_____________________________________________________________

8. What would be the best present you could give to your father on his birthday? Why?
_____________________________________________________________

PRACTICE 3 (VOCABULARY)

No. Word Meaning No. Word Meaning

1 Horrors 4 Vampires

2 Skeleton 5 Upset

3 Defeat 6 Remove