On Turning Ten Poem Analysis

Kevin Min

Ms. Baumgarten

English 10

04/30/2014

Poetry Commentary: The sadness, nostalgia and pain of change

Throughout our lives, each one of us will experience change. Either good or bad, one cannot deny the fact that change is innate for human beings. As life forcibly changes, one must leave behind the comfort and the joy in their past in order to face these changes. This idea is well portrayed in Billy Collins’s free verse poem “On Turning Ten.” Through appropriate poetic structure, well-structured theme, and literary devices such as similes, metaphors, and vivid imagery, the reader is able to perceive the sadness, pain and nostalgia of change as meant by Collins.

Through the appropriate use of poetic structure, Collins is able to create a basis from where we start to analyze the sadness, pain and nostalgia of change. Collins starts with the tittle. The title of the poem is frank and self-explanatory—the three words ‘On Turning Ten’. It may even seem a little bit banal because the title seems a bit too ordinary and cliché. Yet, the title takes on compelling significance in understanding the meaning of the poem once the central messages of the poem become clearer. And, by the last line, the reader will be able to see that “On Turning Ten” isn’t just about a child turning ten but a poem which shows life changes are often painful and nostalgic. Then there is the structure. The poem is written in a free verse form of five stanzas which is not constituted of consistent meter patterns nor any other musical patterns and tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Change is intrinsic, wild and painful; thus, it is very adequate to use a free verse style in “On Turning Ten” because it reflects the irregularity and spontaneousness ...

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...reates an image of the child falling on the “sidewalks of life (31)” and skinning his knee, causing him bleed. This imagery represents how as one’s life changes, one must leave behind the imaginations and fantasies of the past to face the realities one is confronted with.

Change is an inevitable part of life. As life changes one is often forced to leave behind the comforts of the past to move on towards the future. This was demonstrated in “On Turning Ten” through the theme of a loss of innocence and simplicity as one age, as well as through imagery that depicts the changes of beliefs to fact the harsh realities of life. Also, Collins used similes and metaphors which displays the unwillingness and pain of the child in change. It is important that as our lives change, while we must leave behind the comforts and joys of the past, we must keep the memories.

WC: 1028