The poem describes a father who is portrayed as very brave, as he is not afraid of anything including ghosts, monsters, and horror movies. However, in the last two lines, the persona wonders why their father who claims to be so brave is afraid of spiders in the bathtub and needs their mother to remove it. The document provides analysis of each verse and discusses the setting, persona, and theme of the poem which is about parents being honest with their children and that true heroes can still have weaknesses.

2. Overview of The Poem
• The poem is for both children and adults.
• With pride, the persona first recounts how
heroic the father is. ‘Dad’ is unafraid of
anything including mythical monsters.
Therefore, dad is the persona’s ‘Number
One’ hero.
• However, the rhetorical question in the
last two lines of the poem shows the
persona’s curiosity and puzzlement
because the heroic father is afraid of a
spider.

3. Meaning of Verses
Verse
• My Dad’s as brave as
a dad can be,
• I rate him Number
One,
• He’s not afraid of the
dead of night,
• Or anything under the
sun.
Meaning
• The persona proclaims
that the father is a very
brave man.
• The persona salutes him
as the “Number One”
Hero who is not afraid of
the dark or anything on
earth.

4. Meaning of Verses
Verse
• He’s not afraid of a
late-night film,
• Full of horrors on the
telly,
• And is he afraid of
skeletons?
• Not Dad, not on your
Nelly!
Meaning
• The persona states that dad
is unafraid of late-night
horror movies or skeletons.
• The phrase ‘not on your
Nelly’ is a slang phrase
which means ‘not on your
life’ and emphasises the
bravery of dad.

5. Meaning of Verses
Verse
• He’s not afraid of
meeting ghosts,
• He’d even smile and
greet ‘em,
• And things that scared
most dads the most,
• My dad could just
defeat ‘em.
Meaning
• Dad is fearless when
meeting ghosts. He will
even smile and talk to
the ghosts.
• He can defeat things
that frighten other dads.

6. Meaning of Verses
Verse
• He’s not afraid of
vampires,
• Or a wolf-man come to
get him,
• If Frankenstein monster
knocked on our door,
• He wouldn’t let that
upset him.
Meaning
• The persona’s dad is
not afraid of
monsters, like
vampires,
werewolves (wolf-
man) or
Frankenstein’s
monster.

7. Meaning of Verses
Verse
• My dad’s as brave as a
dad can be,
• And he’s always ready to
prove it.
• So why, when a spider’s
in the bath,
• Does Mum have to come
and remove it.
Meaning
• The persona’s dad is always
eager to prove that he is
brave.
• However, in the last two
lines, the persona wonders
why the heroic dad is afraid
of a spider in the ‘bath’
(bathtub), and needs Mum
to remove it.

9. Setting
> PLACE – Not specified;
only
the bathroom is
mentioned.
> Time – The present.

10. Persona
• The persona is the
‘voice’ in the poem.
• The persona is the ‘I’
and ‘Me’ in the poem.
• The persona’s father is
referred as ‘dad’, ‘he’
and ‘him’.
• The persona is
an intelligent
and observant
child.

11. Theme
• Parents must be honest and realistic with their
children.
• Not all hero wear cape.
• It is best not to pretend.
• Do not afraid to reveal your weakness.
• Heroes are everywhere.