Jones 1

Jennifer Jones
ENGL 414 A
Dr. Burke
January 17, 2016

LSW#1: Historical Childrens Literature

Part 1: Pose at least four questions about the readings in general:

1. Why do the poems that we have read always have an ending of someone being punished
or injured?
2. What attracts people to read such poems?
3. How are the meanings of todays literature different from past literature?
4. What is the meaning or purpose of writing such scary/ serious poems?
Part 2: Identify one or more patterns that you find in these early readings:
One pattern that I was able to find within the early readings is that at the end of most of
the poems someone is either hurt or punished. Another pattern that is that when children are
involved they are only given one chance to get things right. In the poem Poisonous Fruit, the
children messed up once and that was their life lesson. Second chances seemed not to exist
during this time. If someone was upset and crying about something and was not able to tell why,
then that person would be given a reason to cry. The third pattern I have noticed is how within
the poem over time someone is likely to die at the end. The Story of Augustus is an interesting
plot line because he does not want to eat any soup anymore and within a few days he is dead. It
seems dramatic for someone to always end up dying or becoming ill. Those patterns are present
in the early readings.