QUESTIONS Q1. Who is speaking in the poem and to whom are the words addressed to? Q2. What kind of life has the mother led and what does she compare her life to? Q3.What does the speaker encounter on the stairs? Q4.What three pieces of advice does the spaker give the boy? Q5. What is the tone of the speaker? Q6. What does the word ‘tacks’ refer to in the poem? Q7. Why do you think the mother advises the son? Q8. What was the speaker’s life full of?