My Boy Jack
My Boy Jack - fact Summary
Inspired by His Son's Death
The poem addresses a parent's desperate questioning about a missing son at sea and moves from hope to resigned acceptance. Its recurring refrain of absence frames a compact, stoic response to loss. The final stanza reframes grief as pride, urging the bereaved to keep their head high because the son upheld family honor. The poem is commonly linked to the poet’s real-life wartime bereavement.
Read Complete AnalysesHave you news of my boy Jack?" Not this tide. "When d'you think that he'll come back?" Not with this wind blowing, and this tide. "Has any one else had word of him?: " Not this tide. For what is sunk will hardly swim, Not with this wind blowing, and this tide. "Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?" None this tide, Nor any tide, Except he did not shame his kind-- Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide. Then hold your head up all the more, This tide, And every tide; Because he was the son you bore, And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!
1914-18
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