How the poem is made

Form. The poem is written in couplets: stanzas of two lines. The rhyme scheme is AABB: grey/day, snow/slow, long/throng. The pairs give it a steady, walking rhythm.

Theme: kindness and empathy (feeling what another person feels). Tone: sympathetic (towards the woman) and hopeful (because of the boy).

Simile (a comparison using like or as): 'Came the boys like a flock of sheep.' Sheep move all together, following each other, noticing nothing: just like a crowd of boys rushing past an old woman.

Alliteration (the same consonant sound repeated): 'so meek, so timid, afraid to stir', 'slippery street', 'firm and strong'.

Repetition: the poem repeats 'old', 'grey', 'poor' and 'slow', and above all 'somebody's mother'.

Why repeat 'somebody's mother'? Because it is the poem's whole message. 'Old woman' makes her a stranger. 'Somebody's mother' makes her someone's family, like your own mother. The boy's kindness comes from seeing that, and the repetition makes us see it too.

Imagery (words that help you see, hear or feel):

• 'The street was wet with a recent snow': cold, slippery, uncomfortable;
• 'the throng of human beings': a busy street where she is still alone.

Contrast: her 'trembling feet' against his 'firm and strong' ones. It shows the difference between old age and youth, and that the boy used his strength to help her.

He was proud, but the poem shows it was gladness at being able to help, not arrogance about being strong.