Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard
Paul Zimmer
At the blackboard I had missed
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I wept,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard
Paul Zimmer
•
At the blackboard I had missed
•
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth
When the old, exasperated nun
•
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I wept,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
•
•
•
•
And curse her yellow teeth with this. •
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•
•
•
•
•
1st Period
“Thudding” sensory detail/onomatopoeia. He is talking about
himself. “Blackboard” is older equipment, meaning that this
probably took place at a school years ago.
The author is in math class “Number problems” and he is
having difficulty with the material “missed // Five number
problems in a row” He probably feels frustrated, stupid,
embarrassed because he continues to fail in front of the
teacher and his peers.
“foul” means ‘offensive to the senses, especially through
having a disgusting smell or taste or being unpleasantly soiled’
(Merriam Webster Dictionary). This makes him seem to feel
disgusting or dirty, not simply wrong.
“exasperated” irritated and out of patience
“pound” to hit hard, so she is slamming him against the board
“nun” shows this is taking place at a Catholic school
“wept” is to cry, “threw” implies she pushed or slung him into
his seat while he cried. You throw garbage away.
“Where I hid my head” feels ashamed, hurt, afraid
“swore” a serious promise
“poet” the ‘opposite’ of math, emotional and creative
“curse” implies hatred, wishing bad things on others
“yellow teeth” makes her seem physically ugly, which we are
psychologically disposed to equate with being bad/evil
“foul” and “throw” = he feels like a waste of a person
He kept his promise, and hasn’t let the incident go
Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard
Paul Zimmer
•
At the blackboard I had missed
•
•
Five number problems in a row,
•
And was about to foul a sixth
When the old, exasperated nun
•
Began to pound my head against
•
My six mistakes. When I wept,
•
•
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
•
•
And curse her yellow teeth with this. •
•
•
•
•
3rd Period
“Thudding” = onomatopoeia, “Blackboard” shows it probably
happened many years ago, at a school
Author referring to self in title, this is his experiences
“number problems” show he’s in math class, “five…in a row”
shows that he’s struggling to do the problems correctly..
“foul” as a verb means to make/be disgusting or dirty, or evil.
To be incorrect is the secondary definition.
“nun” implies he’s at a Catholic school, while “exasperated”
means that she is annoyed/irritated/tired.
“pound” = slam or hit hard. “against // My six mistakes”
means she did it over and over, six times. “Wept” = cry.
“threw” is a little violent, relates to ‘throw away the trash.’
“hid my head” is imagery, showing his reaction to feeling so
hurt and ashamed.
“swore” = made a powerful, important promise
“poet” is a very different way of thinking than with math.
Some people think of literature as the ‘opposite’ of math.
“curse” = wish ill on something you hate
“yellow teeth” = the poet creates an ugly, mean image of her
He hasn’t let this incident go. It still bothers him.
He kept his promise to himself to become a poet and use it to show how cruel the nun was to him.
We expect religious people to be kind and understanding, following their religion, but the nun wasn’t.
Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard
Paul Zimmer
•
•
At the blackboard I had missed
•
•
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I wept,
She threw me back into my seat,
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
•
2nd Period
“Thudding” is negative, painful, sadness, onomatopoeia
“Blackboard” means the setting is probably school that is old,
or it took place long ago. (Today we have whiteboards.)
Autobiographical, as we see the poet’s name in the title.
He is a student struggling with math. “missed // Five number
problems in a row” and he feels he has made so many
mistakes he is disgusting/dirty (“foul”)
“exasperated” = tired/annoyed, “nun” = catholic school
“pound” = pain, hurt, blunt trauma; set up for imagery
She is literally using his accidents to hurt him
“wept” = crying, bawling; “mistakes” = accidental, unintended
“threw” = hurled or pushed hard; you throw away trash, which
is what he feels like as the moment (“foul”).
“swore” means he made a promise to himself, and “hid” shows
he is trying to cover his embarrassment/shame.
He wants to be a poet because it is the ‘opposite’ of math,
which he now hates
“Curse” means to punish or wish suffering on another person
“yellow teeth” shows it is ugly, like witch teeth
“this” = THIS POEM
He wrote this as an adult when the incident occurred to him as a child. He hasn’t let it go.
We expect teachers to help kids, but we also expect people of God to be kinder, more understanding.
Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard
Paul Zimmer
•
•
At the blackboard I had missed
•
•
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I wept,
She threw me back into my seat,
•
•
•
•
•
•
Where I hid my head and swore
That very day I'd be a poet,
And curse her yellow teeth with this.
•
•
•
•
4th Period
“Thudding” hitting or banging, acts as onomatopoeia
“Blackboard” shows us this either took place in an old building
or it was a long time ago (modern schools have whiteboards)
Autobiographical poem (Zimmer is the author, his childhood)
Past tense, he is a student struggling with math “missed //
Five number problems in a row”
“foul” means mess up, or also to be disgusting/dirty
“exasperated” = annoyed/irritated; “nun” = catholic school
“pound” = hitting hard, “against // My six mistakes” shows
that her weapon isn’t the blackboard, but his mistakes
“wept” = cry; “threw” implies it is violent, hard
You throw away trash, and that is how he feels (“foul”)
“swore” = promise (to himself); “hid” he is trying to hide and is
embarrassed and ashamed
“curse” wish bad things on someone
“yellow teeth” = ugly, all over
1. Kept his promise, 2. He has not let it go. This is still bothering or hurting him.
He points out she’s a nun and we expect her to be kind and holy, showing God’s love. Instead, she’s
abusive and cruel.
Why a poet? 1. to let his emotions out. 2. because it is the opposite of math, and it is about expression
and he can’t make mistakes
Zimmer’s Head Thudding against the Blackboard
Paul Zimmer
•
•
At the blackboard I had missed
•
•
Five number problems in a row,
And was about to foul a sixth
When the old, exasperated nun
Began to pound my head against
My six mistakes. When I wept,
She threw me back into my seat,
•
•
•
•
•
Where I hid my head and swore
•
•
That very day I'd be a poet,
•
And curse her yellow teeth with this. •
•
•
8th Period
Autobiographical poem (“Zimmer” in title refers to author)
“Blackboard” tells us this occurred in an old school, or a long
time ago, as modern schools have whiteboards
“Thudding” also serves as onomatopoeia
“missed // Five number problems in a row” shows that he was
a student struggling in math
“foul” means disgusting/dirty/evil, used here to describe him
“exasperated” annoyed/angry; “nun” = catholic school
“pound” = to hit hard; “against // My six mistakes” = his
mistakes are her weapons and what hurts, not the blackboard
“wept” = cried; “threw” there is some violence behind it, but it
also alludes to throwing away the trash.
“swore” = he made a promise to himself.
“hid” trying to conceal his shame and embarrassment
“curse” to wish bad things on someone
“her yellow teeth” connotation of rotten and ugly
“this” refers to the poem we just read.
“English” is the opposite of “Math” which he is bad with, so it makes sense he’d choose to be a poet.
Nuns, ideally, are helpful, wise, and kind. He has the opposite experience.