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To Kill a Mockingbird’s Boo Radley: A Poetic Secret Message

By Tania Runyan 10 Comments

Boo Radley’s One and Only Line

There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Boo Radley. Did he really stab his dad with scissors years ago? How many cats has he eaten under the porch? Above all, will he ever come out of that house? By the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, he becomes so much more than a game of make believe. He becomes a hero.

Lately, I’ve taken to writing poems in honor of famous literary characters. A mystery like Boo deserves a little bit of poetic secrecy, doesn’t he? That’s why I think the acrostic form is perfect.

You may have written an acrostic in school, in which the first letter of each line or word spells out your name when read from top to bottom. It’s a fun exercise, but there is so much more potential to the acrostic’s unique method of communication.

Remember how Boo finds indirect ways to connect with the kids, like leaving them little gifts in the knot hole of a tree? The acrostic communicates with a similar “secret message,” saying something without speaking it aloud. In my case, I decided to let Boo’s one and only spoken line in the book not only create the lines and stanzas of the poem, but the themes.

Boo Radley, After

While the rest of Maycomb jabbers on, Scout,
I’ll just stay in and carve
Lumps of soap from your story:
Lye gardenias, chifforobes, hams—

You’re never short on truth
Or adventure, but by now you
Understand that my closed door is my voice.

To love, I hide inside another’s heart
And take scissors (ha ha) to the rest.
Knot holes can only hold so much.
Ewells of the world don’t know

Mockingbirds from mad dogs, but young lady,
Every day you go out there, the town

Hurts a little less while you
Open their eyes a little more.
Meanwhile, I’ll nest here and keep an
Eye on your life. Chirp my silent song.

—Tania Runyan

To Kill a Mockingbird book coverTry Your Own To Kill a Mockingbird Acrostic

Want to try your own Mockingbird acrostic? We’d love to learn about your own favorite line, phrase, or symbol from the book in the form of an acrostic. Then just drop your poem in the comment box below.

Photo by Paulius Malinovskis, Creative Commons license via Flickr. Post by Tania Runyan.

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Tania Runyan
Tania Runyan
Tania Runyan lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois, a sort-of suburb, sort-of small town, where the deer and the minivans play. She's a 2011 NEA fellow and mama to four poetry books—A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, Delicious Air, and What Will Soon Take Place—and three (much cuter and noisier) human children. Tania is also the author of five non-fiction books—Making Peace with Paradise, How To Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, How to Write a Form Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. Visit her at TaniaRunyan.com
Tania Runyan
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Filed Under: Blog, poetry prompt, To Kill a Mockingbird, writer's group resources, writing prompt, writing prompts

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About Tania Runyan

Tania Runyan lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois, a sort-of suburb, sort-of small town, where the deer and the minivans play. She's a 2011 NEA fellow and mama to four poetry books—A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, Delicious Air, and What Will Soon Take Place—and three (much cuter and noisier) human children. Tania is also the author of five non-fiction books—Making Peace with Paradise, How To Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, How to Write a Form Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. Visit her at TaniaRunyan.com

Comments

  1. L.L. Barkat says

    January 27, 2021 at 11:29 am

    Oh, Tania, that poem of yours is exquisite and tender.

    In such a short space, you’ve given us a large view of Boo Radley.

    Reply
    • Tania Runyan says

      January 28, 2021 at 10:30 am

      Thank you. It’s hard not to love Boo.

      Reply
  2. Megan Willome says

    January 28, 2021 at 2:17 pm

    Oh my gosh, I love that you made your acrostic from his one line! I’ve never thought of using an acrostic that way. I’ve done it for names or themes, but this is far more interesting.

    Reply
    • Tania Runyan says

      January 28, 2021 at 2:59 pm

      Thank you! I’ve been doing a lot with phrases and sentences in the acrostic form. Give it a try!

      Reply
  3. Van Prince says

    September 8, 2022 at 8:38 am

    *The greatest Animal of Poetry
    is a dog*

    “Spell doG backwards!” _-Van Prince

    Reply
  4. Bethany Rohde says

    December 12, 2022 at 2:31 pm

    My daughter finished this book last week. Ten minutes ago, I finished the last page of To Kill a Mockingbird too. Oh my. My heart is full and a bit broken.

    I remembered you writing some posts about it a while back and came to read them again. Your acrostic for Boo is such a dear tribute.

    “Meanwhile, I’ll nest here and keep an
    Eye on your life. Chirp my silent song.”

    Looking forward to showing your poem to my daughter when she gets home from school.

    Reply
    • Tania Runyan says

      December 15, 2022 at 8:10 am

      Thank you, Bethany! What did she think?

      Reply
      • Bethany says

        December 15, 2022 at 11:42 am

        She quietly read out loud your words, “Boo’s one and only spoken line,” and then ran her finger down the acrostic. After she read the whole poem, I saw her smile.

        Reply
  5. Van Prince says

    December 12, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    The true story in the book is just 1 injustice blacks have faced in America *&* The Inststution of Slavery where bklacks wereenslaved for 265 years and being denied *Reparatuion for Slavery* shines a brighter light of the true story of *To Kill A Mockingbird*!

    Reply
  6. Van Prince says

    December 15, 2022 at 11:57 am

    To *Kill a Mockingbird* is a great book *&* movie, but don’t stop there akin to God didn’t stop giving out writing talent with William Shakespeare *&* Khalil Gibran but continued the literary process *&* like wise writing geniuses didn’t stop with the masterpiece *To Kill A Mockingbird* *&* please read
    *ManChild In The Promised Land* By: Claude Brown* Also a literarey masterpiece!

    Reply

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