Commentary on Two hands

... Commentary on 'Two hands' by Jon Stallworthy The poem 'Two hands', by Jon Stallworthy compares the hands of the persona with those of his father. The son is the voice of the poem and he describes the difference between his father's hand and his hand. Although these hands are physically similar, expressed in the line "hands so alike - spade palms..." the personalities of owners of the hands, are very different. The title itself, the 'Two Hands', represents the two different personalities of the father and the son. The son on one hand, appears to be a poet. This is supported in the line; "dance with this pencil" where the son's hand, similar to his father's, dances. The difference between the hands however is that the father's hands are described as dancing when performing operations since he is a surgeon, while the son's hands dance when writing poems. We can

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