Childhood in Poetry

Childhood in Poetry

Childhood. It is the most bewildering point in life. There are limited

means of communication with a child as they don't get understand fully

the language of adults. However, the first few years of out lives are

by far the most important! They can determine what kind of life we

will lead in the future and our attitude towards the world can even be

determined by the way we were born!

Childhood is a rich source of information for poets: there is so much

to write about, and the reader will be able to relate to it as they

have all experienced childhood.

My childhood was fantastic, full of adventure and excitement, a time

to experience new things. As I was brought up in the countryside, I

lived in harmony with nature and I did the usual things that any other

child would have done. I picked blackberries, ran carelessly through

the fields and spent my time discovering new, exhilarating things.

The poets and poems I will be looking at in this essay will be

'Clearances 3' by Seamus Heaney, 'My Papa's Waltz' by Theodore Roethke

and 'Our Father' by Ray Mathew.

I will be analysing each poem in some detail and I intend to highlight

the differences and similarities between the poems.

The first poem I will be looking at is 'My Papas Waltz' by Theodore

Roethke. This poem is mainly about a little child whose father comes

in from work and is quite drunk; they waltz through their house, while

the mother remains nervously standing, showing no sign of amusement! I

am guessing the child is quite small as the poet recalls how

'the whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy'

The poem is laid out so that the ...

... middle of paper ...

...er closer the whole rest of our lives.'

He recalls how, as a child, his head was bent towards his mothers.

They were extremely close at that moment, he will never forget it. Now

he realised how strong their love was for one another at that time and

he recalls those special moments with great affection and gratitude.

'Our Father' by Ray Mathew is my favourite poem, as it shows no matter

how perfect a family may appear to be, there is always going to be

some kind of flaw being closed doors. The children are very much aware

of their father's behaviour towards their mother; it shows that

children aren't as stupid as adults might think. They know what goes

on and they can hear their parents arguing.

The children like the peace and tranquillity of the church. Not all

the children like excitement and noise all the time!