Exploring ‘The River God’
What lies beneath?
Have you ever heard the expression ‘Still waters run deep’?
It’s sometimes used to describe someone who, like a river, has a calm appearance that hides deep
and dangerous undercurrents. The River God in the poem seems to represent this idea – he is the
dangerous spirit of the river that lies hidden beneath its surface.
The poem is a dramatic monologue: the poet uses the first person (I) but takes on the persona (role)
of a character and uses the voice of this character in the poem. The poet, Stevie Smith, is taking on
the persona of the River God, and using his voice to ‘speak’ the poem and reveal some of the river’s
secrets.
1. Below are four different interpretations of the poem.



Which do you agree with most and why?
Are there any comments that you disagree with? Why?
Do you have your own interpretation of the poem which is different from any of the thoughts
below?
a) The River God is telling humans that while we may think that he is just a smelly, old river he is
actually a powerful force – watch out!
b) It’s clear that the River God is lonely and misunderstood. He is punishing the people who do
not respect him and reminding us that while we may dismiss him as smelly and old he has
many good qualities. Perhaps we should feel sorry for him.
c) This is a love poem; the River God has fallen in love with a human. The River God reminds us
that while all of us have forgotten the beautiful lady (we’re only human and don’t last very long
after all!), he will never forget her or forgive her if she leaves.
d) The poem is showing us how we take aspects of nature for granted when each part of it has its
own inner life and secrets that we know nothing about.
2. Now add to the list of themes that seem to be important in the poem:
The power of nature
Violence
Love
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3. Choose one of the themes from your list above and write a PEE paragraph about it.
4. Swap your paragraph with a partner and write down one strength and one area for improvement
on each other’s work.
The character of the River God
5. How is the River God presented in this poem?
In pairs, choose four adjectives from the list below which you think best describe the speaker of
this poem.
Are there any that you think don’t apply at all?
Playful
Lonely
Friendly
Humorous
Sad
Argumentative
Dangerous
Apologetic
Boastful
Threatening
Cruel
Powerful
Secretive
Misunderstood
6. Now join with another pair and compare your choices. In your group of four, decide which two of
the four adjectives you think are most useful in describing the River God and then choose a line or
two from the poem which you feel best demonstrate these characteristics.
Adjective (describing word)
Quotation
a)
b)
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The River God’s attitudes to people
7. What sort of relationship does the River God have with people? Fill in the chart below to show the
different aspects of this relationship that are revealed in the poem:
Line numbers
Line 4
Aspect of the River God’s relationship with humans
This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially
women.
Lines 5–9
Lines 11–16
Line 23
Line 26
Beginnings and endings
8. Look again at the poem’s opening line. It sounds like a response to part of a conversation that we
haven’t heard. What do you think might have prompted the River God to speak in this way? Is the
poet imagining that the River God is defending himself against criticism or is she suggesting that
we should guard against making assumptions based on what things seem to be like (still waters
run deep)?
9. How do you respond to what the River God says at the end of the poem? Are you left feeling:



confused?
sympathetic or unsympathetic to the River God?
something else?
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Character and voice – thinking about the whole poem
10. Write a PEE paragraph about how the character’s voice is created in ‘The River God’.
You will need to consider:





the sort of character being presented in the poem
tone of voice
the River God’s attitudes
the River God’s language
the form and structure of the poem.
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Exploring ‘The River God’
What lies beneath?
Have you ever heard the expression ‘Still waters run deep’?
It’s used to describe someone who, like a river, has a calm appearance that hides deep and
dangerous undercurrents. The River God in the poem seems to be the embodiment of this idea – he
is the dangerous spirit of the river which lies hidden beneath its surface.
The poem is a dramatic monologue: the poet uses the first person (I) but takes on the persona (role)
of a character and uses the voice of this character in the poem. In ‘The River God’, the poet, Stevie
Smith, is taking on the persona of the River God, and using his voice to ‘speak’ the poem and reveal
some of the river’s secrets.
1. Below are four ways of looking at the poem. Read them through and then finish the sentences
below.
a) The River God is telling humans that while we may think that he is just a smelly, old river he is
actually a powerful force – watch out!
b) It’s clear that the River God is lonely and misunderstood. He is punishing the people who do
not respect him and reminding us that while we may dismiss him as smelly and old he has
many good qualities. Perhaps we should feel sorry for him.
c) This is a love poem; the River God has fallen in love with a human. The River God reminds us
that while all of us have forgotten the beautiful lady (we’re only human and don’t last very long
after all!), the River God will never forget her or forgive her if she leaves.
d) The poem is showing us how we take aspects of nature for granted when each part of it has its
own inner life and secrets that we know nothing about.
I most agree with a, b, c, d (circle as appropriate) because ..................................................
...............................................................................................................................................
I disagree with a, b, c, d (circle as appropriate) because ......................................................
...............................................................................................................................................
My own view is ......................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................
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2. Now add to the list of themes that seem to be important in the poem:
The power of nature
Violence
Love
3. Choose one of the themes from your list above and write a PEE paragraph about it.
The theme of ..................................... is important in ‘The River God’ because ....................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
A quotation that shows this theme is ‘.....................................................................................
………………………………………………………………………………………………………...’
This quotation is interesting because .....................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
The character of the River God
4. How is the River God presented in this poem? In pairs, choose four adjectives from the list below
which you think best describe the speaker of this poem. Are there any that you think don’t apply at
all?
Playful
Lonely
Friendly
Humorous
Sad
Argumentative
Dangerous
Apologetic
Boastful
Threatening
Cruel
Powerful
Secretive
Misunderstood
6
5. Now join with another pair and compare your choices. In your group of four, decide which two of
the four adjectives you think are most useful in describing the River God and then choose a line or
two from the poem which you feel best demonstrate these characteristics.
Adjective (describing word)
Quotation
a)
b)
The River God and people
6. What sort of relationship does the River God have with people? Fill in the chart below to show the
different aspects of this relationship that are revealed in the poem.
Match the description of the River God’s relationship with humans with the appropriate lines. The
first one has been done for you.
a) This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially women.
b) Sad? Angry? Thoughtful? What’s your view about the River God’s attitude in this line?
c) Perhaps here the River God is boasting and mocking how little people know about him.
d) These lines are quite threatening. They suggest that the River God enjoys tormenting people
and drowning them.
e) These lines reveal that the River God is capable of being loving and is not always as confident
as is suggested early in the poem.
Line numbers
Line 4
Aspect of the River God’s relationship with humans
a) This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans,
especially women.
Lines 5–9
Lines 11–16
Line 23
Line 26
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Beginnings and endings
7. Look again at the poem’s opening line. It sounds like a response to part of a conversation that we
haven’t heard. What do you think might have prompted the River God to speak in this way? Is the
poet imagining that the River God is defending himself against criticism or is she suggesting that
we should guard against making assumptions based on what things seem to be like (still waters
run deep)?
8. How do you respond to what the River God says at the end of the poem? Are you left feeling:



confused?
sympathetic or unsympathetic to the River God?
something else?
Character and voice – thinking about the whole poem
9. Write a PEE paragraph about how the character of the River God is presented in the poem. You
may want to use the sentence stems below:
The River God is presented as ....................................... and ...............................................
We can tell this because ................................................................................................. and
.................................................................................................................. These quotations
show us that ...........................................................................................................................
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Teaching notes (for Foundation Tier)

You could ask students to create a poster to illustrate the expression ‘Still waters run deep’ or ask
them to draw a picture of the River God and its secrets at the bottom of the river to help them
visualise the themes and issues in this poem.

You will probably need to read through the interpretations of the poem and discuss these with
students for question 1.
Answers to question 6:
Line numbers
Aspect of the River God’s relationship with humans
Line 4
This line suggests that the River God likes the company of humans, especially
women.
Lines 5–9
These lines are quite threatening. They suggest that the River God enjoys
tormenting people and drowning them.
Lines 11–16
These lines reveal that the River God is capable of being loving and is not
always as confident as is suggested early in the poem.
Line 23
Perhaps here the River God is boasting and mocking how little people know
about him.
Line 26
Sad? Angry? Thoughtful? What’s your view about the River God’s attitude in
this line?
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