A British soldier complains that the public tells him "Tommy, go away" and scorns him in peacetime and cheers him only when there is fighting to do. This free worksheet has Kipling's full poem with numbered lines, vocabulary, five discussion questions, a writing prompt and an answer key. No signup needed.
Grades 8–11 · Common Core RL.9-10.6, RL.9-10.2, RL.9-10.4 · US Letter PDF, with an answer key on the last page
What’s on the worksheet
"Tommy" was published in 1890 and collected in Barrack-Room Ballads (1892). "Tommy Atkins" was slang for the ordinary British soldier. The poem is a dramatic monologue in Cockney dialect with a strong ballad beat and a refrain that changes in each stanza.
Vocabulary
- public-'ouse: a pub
- publican: the owner of a pub
- red-coats: British soldiers, from their red uniforms
- gallery: the cheapest seats high in a theater
- barricks: barracks; soldiers' housing (dialect)
- blackguards: scoundrels
- plaster saints: perfect, statue-like saints
- Widow's Uniform: the uniform of Queen Victoria, a widow
Discussion questions
- What happens to the speaker at the pub and the theater?
- How do people speak to Tommy in peacetime, and how in wartime? Quote the refrain.
- What does the speaker mean by "single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints"?
- What does the speaker ask for in the last stanza?
- What is the tone of the poem: angry, funny, bitter, or proud? Explain.
Writing prompt
Write a short monologue (150 words) from a modern worker who feels ignored until there is an emergency.
The answer key is included in the PDF, on its own page for teachers.