The Importance Of Coming Of Age In Poetry

Coming of age is a huge step towards adulthood. At this period, one is filled with responsibilities and privileges. While young adults are free and privileged to do what they want, many are foolish and make mistakes that could affect the rest of their adulthood. Samuel Johnson's "To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age" and A.E. Housman’s "When I was One-and-Twenty" describe the experience of the coming of age. Through the use of different point of views and tones, the poets each describe their different views and experiences with the coming of age and how their ideas and experiences connect and link to a greater understanding of adulthood.
Johnson’s use of point of view and tone helps contribute to the underlying theme of the coming of age. In Johnson's poem, the point of view is third person. The speaker is experienced with the coming of age, and he

Both poems are different perspectives and different stories of how adulthood affected their lives but they both stress the importance of abusing the powers of adulthood. Both poems stress the importance of turning 21 and how adulthood is stage to be aware and smart (as well as have fun). In Johnson’s poem, the first line, “Long–expected one and twenty,” helps set the gist of the poem, signifying that Lade has turned 21 and now his actions will be different and more overpowering than when he was a teenager. Housman’s use of repetition helps signify the importance of turning. In the first and second stanzas, the first line is always “When I was one-and-twenty.” Repetition is a way to show importance and order of significance in a poem or literary merit. Also, while the theme of adulthood could be expressed in literal terms, the poets felt that conveying the message of adulthood in a form of poetry would make the theme of coming of age more connected and touching rather than boring and straight to the