We all have forgotten most of our childhood; after all, most of us will spend more time in our adult lives than our infantile state. In the free verse poem On Turning Ten, by Billy Collins, the readers are reminded of the freedom found only in childhood. The narrator speaks of life leading up to turning ten and all that is left behind with the first decade of life ended. Collins uses relaxed diction, with imagery and simile that evoke a tone of loss and sadness; while simultaneously reminding readers of the boundlessness of childhood possibility.
In the first stanza, Collins uses simile to compare the turning of ten to contracting an illness. “The whole idea of it makes me feel/ like I’m coming down with something/ worse than any stomach ache/” (line 1-3). Illnesses are frequently associated with death; the turning of ten is the fatal illness of the narrator’s childhood freedom. This disease is a cancer of childhood, taking its time exterminating all the speaker’s juvenile characteristics. “a mumps of the psyche, / a
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“This is the begging of sadness, I say to myself, /” (Collins line 24). The speaker acknowledges the magic of his inventiveness is vanishing. “It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends, / time to turn the first big number. /” (Collins line 26-27). The narrator is prophetic stating, first decade of his life is finished, next will be twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, and then mostly gone. Through the narrations, the speaker reminds the readers of the purity only grasped as a child. “It seems only I used to believe/ there was nothing under my skin but light. /” (Collins line 28-29). Irrevocably, the speaker concludes, that he is no longer invincible. “But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life, / I skin my knees. / I bleed. /” (Collins line
Those are the last words the author wrote to his younger self. Astoundingly, it left a moment of sudden disclosure and realization to readers, as it sounds
...escribable sadness that lurks in the air around them. The way the young child will not be satisfied sends his father into a frustrated resentment of modern society. People take too much for granted in a place of hope, privileges, and freedom while war drags on in another country, ten thousand miles away. The appreciation of youthful innocence is thus juxtaposed with selfishness and an inability to be satisfied, which seems to create a double tone that creates a contrast about the reality of humanity. Sometimes we can never be content with what we have until something is lost or sacrificed. In youth and innocence, satisfaction and the appreciation of the world around us seem to come more easily, perhaps because life has not yet been tainted by greed. It may be part of human nature that, as one grows, his desires become more complex and thus more difficult to satiate.
Early on, poetry was often used with rhyme to remember things more accurately, this still rings true today, even though its use is more often to entertain. However, although it appeals to both the young, in children's books, and the old, in a more sophisticated and complex form, people are bound to have different preferences towards the different styles of poetry. Dobson’s poetry covers a variation of styles that captivate different individuals. “Her Story” is a lengthy poem with shorter stanzas. It’s free verse structure and simplistic language and face value ideas might appeal better to a younger audience. This poem includes quotes with informal language that children or teens would better understand. It’s narrative-based style is easy to follow, and although the poem covers very basic concepts, it’s message is still communicated subliminally. This particular poem is interesting because it focusses on the universal experience of pain and it’s relation to time. Similar to this is “The Householder”, written in a cyclical style, opening with a “house” and ending with a “home”. With only three stanzas, it is
In the free verse prose coming of age poem “Quinceanera” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the reader comes across the dramatic narrative of a young girl who is getting ready to celebrate her Quinceanera where she is starting to come in touch with the harsh reality of having to mature. It seems that through Cofer’s use of diction, imagery, and similes the reader is capable to analyze how the poem conveys the despotic actuality of life as one has to grow up and take on heavy responsibilities that ultimately mark our entrance into adulthood.
As mentioned, the parents’ pains, negative emotions and hatred are presented in the first part. Even from the first few lines from the poem: “Ulcerated tooth keeps me...
In the poem “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins, imagery and movement is used to display the sadness of a little boy who is turning ten and does not want to grow up.
Each of the poems offers insight to what a boy needs to know and will expect when turning twenty one. The each shows different perspectives on the importance of this birthday and how it can change a boy into a man. The tone, dictions, and structure offers insights and help to the reader of how these poems can convey each their own compelling
The author throughout the poem discusses the troubles and changes faced by a newly-turned ten-year-old boy. “This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself, as I walk through the universe in my sneakers. It is time to say goodbye to my imaginary friends, time to turn the first big number.” (Collins 46) The boy feels as though he must leave behind the playfulness of his early childhood with the addition of another digit. As he lies on his bed he remembers the fun he had playing as an Arabian Wizard, a soldier, and a prince. The rite of passage, turning ten, has brought him further into reality, shown by the final stanza. “It seems only yesterday I used to believe there was nothing under my skin but light. If you cut me I could shine. But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life, I skin my knees. I bleed.” Collins
trauma can have on someone, even in adulthood. The speaker of the poem invokes sadness and
But the ‘Nurses Song,’ form experience shows the reality of life: that it is hard, and people, like the nurse in the song aren’t happy and full of joy, like the memories of the old people in ‘The Echoing Green,’ and therefore, Blake’s poetry confirms the view that children are oppressed by
Before reading this poem there are many things that have to be taken into consideration such as Young’s background, education, ideology and phraseology. Kevin Young starts off the poem
Marita Bonner starts her short essay by describing the joys and innocence of youth. She depicts the carefree fancies of a cheerful and intelligent child. She compares the feelings of such abandonment and gaiety to that of a kitten in a field of catnip. Where the future is opened to endless opportunities and filled with all the dream and promises that only a youth can know. There are so many things in the world to see, learn, and experience that your mind in split into many directions of interest. This is a memorable time in life filled with bliss and lack of hardships.
The speaker reflects on the teenage girl’s childhood as she recalls the girl played with “dolls that did pee-pee” (2). This childish description allows the speaker to explain the innocence of the little girl. As a result, the reader immediately feels connected to this cute and innocent young girl. However, the speaker’s diction evolves as the girl grew into a teenager as she proclaims: “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). The speaker applies polished language to illustrate the teen. This causes the reader not only to see the girl as an adult, but also to begin to grasp the importance of her situation. The speaker expresses what the bullies told this girl as she explains: “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty” (12-13). The sophisticated diction shifts towards the girl’s oppressors and their cruel demands of her. Because of this, the reader is aware of the extent of the girl’s abuse. The speaker utilizes an intriguing simile as she announces: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). The maturity of the speaker’s word choice becomes evident as she uses a simile a young reader would not understand. This keeps the mature reader focused and allows him to fully understand the somberness of this poem. The speaker concludes the poem as she depicts the teenage girl’s appearance at her funeral: “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (19-20). The speaker elects not to describe the dead girl in an unclear and ingenuous manner. Rather, she is very clear and
In a typical family, there are parents that expected to hear things when their teenager is rebelling against them: slamming the door, shouting at each other, and protests on what they could do or what they should not do. Their little baby is growing up, testing their wings of adulthood; they are not the small child that wanted their mommy to read a book to them or to kiss their hurts away and most probably, they are thinking that anything that their parents told them are certainly could not be right. The poem talks about a conflict between the author and her son when he was in his adolescence. In the first stanza, a misunderstanding about a math problem turns into a family argument that shows the classic rift between the generation of the parent and the teenager. Despite the misunderstandings between the parent and child, there is a loving bond between them. The imagery, contrasting tones, connotative diction, and symbolism in the poem reflect these two sides of the relationship.
At its fundamental level, adulthood is simply the end of childhood, and the two stages are, by all accounts, drastically different. In the major works of poetry by William Blake and William Wordsworth, the dynamic between these two phases of life is analyzed and articulated. In both Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience and many of Wordsworth’s works, childhood is portrayed as a superior state of mental capacity and freedom. The two poets echo one another in asserting that the individual’s progression into adulthood diminishes this childhood voice. In essence, both poets demonstrate an adoration for the vision possessed by a child, and an aversion to the mental state of adulthood.