'Two Hands' by Jon Stallworthy

Consider the appropriateness of the choice of title
Firstly, the poem makes it clear that there are two characters. the first that is mentioned is the 'farther' who 'in his study sits up late'. the other is presumably the son, as the narrative straight away suggests that it is he who is telling the story ('my farther'). He mentions that he is 'at the other end of the house' watching his farther in the study area - this possibly suggests that there is maybe some distance between them, both visually and emotionally. There is also a very interesting sentence in the poem - 'Who would have thought hands so alike - spade palms, blunt fingers short in the joint - would have no more in common?' This suggests a contrast between either two hands or the son and his farther - hands because he mentions that one of his Father's hands holds a pencil 'stiffly' whereas one of his hands makes 'indecision's' that keep him 'cursing nightly'. It appears that one hand is very much stable, but another one is not.

What impressions do we form of the speaker in the poem?
'My farther' suggests that the speaker is observing his farther. They pay a lot of attention to detail, commenting that he has watched another hand 'save no one'. It sounds like he is highlighting the contrast between both of his Father's hands. One of them has 'led a scalpel' suggesting that his farther is a heroic doctor, whereas the other one does nothing useful - it saves 'no one'. It sounds like there is part of their farther that they admire, but also part of their farther that they despise.