Writing about a Poem

The Wind Is Angry written by Adrienne Brady


The wind is angry –
He’s been in a rage all night,
Stamping his feet, bellowing
And finally breaking out.
In morning light he gallops,
At full tilt, round the house
Charging at the walls,
Pulling at the thatch
And beating with clenched fists
Against the windows.
Even now, he’s thrusting
Icy fingers through the crevices
And under doors.

The house is tired
And slightly bored;
She watches with listless eyes,
Sighs – settles on her haunches
And entrenches herself still more.

At full tilt – as fast as possible

Thatch - straw, reeds, leaves etc used to make a roof, or the roof made of them
Listless - feeling tired and not interested in things
Haunches – the parts of your body that includes your bottom, your hips, and the tops of your legs
Entrenches –keeps steadily still


1. Which figurative language device is being used here?

The device is personification. Both non-living things – the wind and the house – are given human qualities. This is shown in “the wind is angry” and “the house is tired and slightly bored”.

2. The wind is very violent. Write down his violent characteristics.
The wind’s violent characteristics include:
• raging all night,
• stamping his feet, bellowing
• breaking out.
• galloping at full tilt,
• charging at the walls,
• pulling at the thatch
• beating with clenched fists against the windows
• thrusting icy fingers through the crevices and under doors

3. Why do you think the poet decided to make the wind male and the house female?
The wind is being referred to as “he” – being made male probably because in general, we expect the man to be proactive, to the extent of being destructive here, if he is in anger. A man is more likely to show the violent side of his behaviour than a woman. All the acts of violence by the wind, are more likely to be shown by the male gender than the female gender. The house is referred to as “she” probably because the woman is not expected to be proactive. In this poem, she watches helplessly against the destructive rage of the man. So the wind is male and the house is female come as no surprise. The poet simply makes use of the assumptions we already hold for both genders in the way we show our anger or react to it.

4. What human characteristics has the poet given the house?
The house is “tired and slightly bored”. She watches helplessly the destructive actions of the wind with her “listless eyes” She could only ‘sigh” as she “settles on her haunches and entrenches herself still more”. All she can do is to try to protect herself as much as possible from the wind’s destructive blows.

5. What difference is there between the behaviour of the wind and the house?
While the wind appears to be angry and destructive, the house appears to be uninterested and only trying her best to protect herself from the wind.

6. Which did you prefer – the wind or the house? Why?

You can choose EITHER ONE of the TWO. There is no RIGHT or WRONG answers.

If you think you prefer the wind, then use the information from the poem to support your answer.

If you think you prefer the house, then again, use the information from the poem to support your answer.