English Tuition London



Exploring ‘The River God’

What lies beneath?

Have you ever heard the expression ‘Still waters run deep’?

It’s sometimes used to describe someone who, like a river, has a calm appearance that hides deep and dangerous undercurrents. The River God in the poem seems to represent this idea – he is the dangerous spirit of the river that lies hidden beneath its surface.

The poem is a dramatic monologue: the poet uses the first person (I) but takes on the persona (role) of a character and uses the voice of this character in the poem. The poet, Stevie Smith, is taking on the persona of the River God, and using his voice to ‘speak’ the poem and reveal some of the river’s secrets.

1. Below are four different interpretations of the poem.

• Which do you agree with most and why?

• Are there any comments that you disagree with? Why?

• Do you have your own interpretation of the poem which is different from any of the thoughts below?

a) The River God is telling humans that while we may think that he is just a smelly, old river he is actually a powerful force – watch out!

b) It’s clear that the River God is lonely and misunderstood. He is punishing the people who do not respect him and reminding us that while we may dismiss him as smelly and old he has many good qualities. Perhaps we should feel sorry for him.

c) This is a love poem; the River God has fallen in love with a human. The River God reminds us that while all of us have forgotten the beautiful lady (we’re only human and don’t last very long after all!), he will never forget her or forgive her if she leaves.

d) The poem is showing us how we take aspects of nature for granted when each part of it has its own inner life and secrets that we know nothing about.

2. Now add to the list of themes that seem to be important in the poem:

3. Choose one of the themes from your list above and write a PEE paragraph about it.

4. Swap your paragraph with a partner and write down one strength and one area for improvement on each other’s work.

The character of the River God

5. How is the River God presented in this poem?

In pairs, choose four adjectives from the list below which you think best describe the speaker of this poem.

Are there any that you think don’t apply at all?

|Playful |Lonely |Friendly |

|Humorous |Sad |Argumentative |

|Dangerous |Apologetic |Boastful |

|Threatening |Cruel |Powerful |

|Secretive |Misunderstood | |

6. Now join with another pair and compare your choices. In your group of four, decide which two of the four adjectives you think are most useful in describing the River God and then choose a line or two from the poem which you feel best demonstrate these characteristics.

|Adjective (describing word) |Quotation |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

The River God’s attitudes to people

7. What sort of relationship does the River God have with people? Fill in the chart below to show the different aspects of this relationship that are revealed in the poem:

|Line numbers |Aspect of the River God’s relationship with humans |

|Line 4 |This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially women. |

|Lines 5–9 | |

| | |

| | |

|Lines 11–16 | |

| | |

| | |

|Line 23 | |

| | |

| | |

|Line 26 | |

| | |

| | |

Beginnings and endings

8. Look again at the poem’s opening line. It sounds like a response to part of a conversation that we haven’t heard. What do you think might have prompted the River God to speak in this way? Is the poet imagining that the River God is defending himself against criticism or is she suggesting that we should guard against making assumptions based on what things seem to be like (still waters run deep)?

9. How do you respond to what the River God says at the end of the poem? Are you left feeling:

• confused?

• sympathetic or unsympathetic to the River God?

• something else?

Character and voice – thinking about the whole poem

10. Write a PEE paragraph about how the character’s voice is created in ‘The River God’.

You will need to consider:

• the sort of character being presented in the poem

• tone of voice

• the River God’s attitudes

• the River God’s language

• the form and structure of the poem.

Exploring ‘The River God’

What lies beneath?

Have you ever heard the expression ‘Still waters run deep’?

It’s used to describe someone who, like a river, has a calm appearance that hides deep and dangerous undercurrents. The River God in the poem seems to be the embodiment of this idea – he is the dangerous spirit of the river which lies hidden beneath its surface.

The poem is a dramatic monologue: the poet uses the first person (I) but takes on the persona (role) of a character and uses the voice of this character in the poem. In ‘The River God’, the poet, Stevie Smith, is taking on the persona of the River God, and using his voice to ‘speak’ the poem and reveal some of the river’s secrets.

1. Below are four ways of looking at the poem. Read them through and then finish the sentences below.

a) The River God is telling humans that while we may think that he is just a smelly, old river he is actually a powerful force – watch out!

b) It’s clear that the River God is lonely and misunderstood. He is punishing the people who do not respect him and reminding us that while we may dismiss him as smelly and old he has many good qualities. Perhaps we should feel sorry for him.

c) This is a love poem; the River God has fallen in love with a human. The River God reminds us that while all of us have forgotten the beautiful lady (we’re only human and don’t last very long after all!), the River God will never forget her or forgive her if she leaves.

d) The poem is showing us how we take aspects of nature for granted when each part of it has its own inner life and secrets that we know nothing about.

I most agree with a, b, c, d (circle as appropriate) because

I disagree with a, b, c, d (circle as appropriate) because

My own view is

2. Now add to the list of themes that seem to be important in the poem:

3. Choose one of the themes from your list above and write a PEE paragraph about it.

The theme of ..................................... is important in ‘The River God’ because ....................

................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

A quotation that shows this theme is ‘.....................................................................................

………………………………………………………………………………………………………...’

This quotation is interesting because .....................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The character of the River God

4. How is the River God presented in this poem? In pairs, choose four adjectives from the list below which you think best describe the speaker of this poem. Are there any that you think don’t apply at all?

|Playful |Lonely |Friendly |

|Humorous |Sad |Argumentative |

|Dangerous |Apologetic |Boastful |

|Threatening |Cruel |Powerful |

|Secretive |Misunderstood | |

5. Now join with another pair and compare your choices. In your group of four, decide which two of the four adjectives you think are most useful in describing the River God and then choose a line or two from the poem which you feel best demonstrate these characteristics.

|Adjective (describing word) |Quotation |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

The River God and people

6. What sort of relationship does the River God have with people? Fill in the chart below to show the different aspects of this relationship that are revealed in the poem.

Match the description of the River God’s relationship with humans with the appropriate lines. The first one has been done for you.

a) This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially women.

b) Sad? Angry? Thoughtful? What’s your view about the River God’s attitude in this line?

c) Perhaps here the River God is boasting and mocking how little people know about him.

d) These lines are quite threatening. They suggest that the River God enjoys tormenting people and drowning them.

e) These lines reveal that the River God is capable of being loving and is not always as confident as is suggested early in the poem.

|Line numbers |Aspect of the River God’s relationship with humans |

|Line 4 |This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially women. |

|Lines 5–9 | |

|Lines 11–16 | |

|Line 23 | |

|Line 26 | |

Beginnings and endings

7. Look again at the poem’s opening line. It sounds like a response to part of a conversation that we haven’t heard. What do you think might have prompted the River God to speak in this way? Is the poet imagining that the River God is defending himself against criticism or is she suggesting that we should guard against making assumptions based on what things seem to be like (still waters run deep)?

8. How do you respond to what the River God says at the end of the poem? Are you left feeling:

• confused?

• sympathetic or unsympathetic to the River God?

• something else?

Character and voice – thinking about the whole poem

9. Write a PEE paragraph about how the character of the River God is presented in the poem. You may want to use the sentence stems below:

The River God is presented as ....................................... and ............................................... We can tell this because ................................................................................................. and .................................................................................................................. These quotations show us that ...........................................................................................................................

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Teaching notes (for Foundation Tier)

• You could ask students to create a poster to illustrate the expression ‘Still waters run deep’ or ask them to draw a picture of the River God and its secrets at the bottom of the river to help them visualise the themes and issues in this poem.

• You will probably need to read through the interpretations of the poem and discuss these with students for question 1.

Answers to question 6:

|Line numbers |Aspect of the River God’s relationship with humans |

|Line 4 |This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially women. |

|Lines 5–9 |These lines are quite threatening. They suggest that the River God enjoys tormenting people and drowning them. |

|Lines 11–16 |These lines reveal that the River God is capable of being loving and is not always as confident as is suggested early in the |

| |poem. |

|Line 23 |Perhaps here the River God is boasting and mocking how little people know about him. |

|Line 26 |Sad? Angry? Thoughtful? What’s your view about the River God’s attitude in this line? |

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The power of nature

Violence

Love

The power of nature

Violence

Love

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