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Alliteration
Alliteration
Alliteration
parents right. They play in the street and climb cliffs and swim in rivers with no constraint. He
feared these children and their abrasive nature; their vituperative words and seemingly
insurmountable strength. Even in this fear though, there is an admiration of their strength that far
surpasses his own. Nonetheless, they would tease him constantly, mocking his lisp while
pointing reproachfully. The persona seems deeply troubled by their endless torment and abuse.
He pretends to smile, hoping to inspire some form of peace and fraternity, but to no avail. He
always longed to forgive them for their harassment, but is denied when they do not reciprocate
any desire for harmony. The persona and the children are of different socioeconomic classes; the
children, lower class and the persona, middle-to-upper class. Thus, there is a divide between
them, and their mockery of him is suggested to have a separate motivation other than simple
childish badinage- they are jealous of his privilege. The persona himself is jealous of the rough
children's freedom even though his social class permits him far more privilege than they have.
This is the implicit irony of the poem.
The mood of this poem is reflective. The themes include childhood experience, parental
influence and social segregation.
Analysis
“Who threw words like stones” the words the boys use where harsh and hurt when they
would say them.
“muscles like iron” they boys were strong and Spence may have not been strong enough
to fight them off so to him they were much stronger than him and it would hurt to be
hit by them.
“Like dogs to bark at my world” not literal dogs but they were loud and unrelenting like
dog’s barks frightening and offensive getting ready to attack.
Metaphor:
“the salt coarse pointing of those boys” salt is rough and salt in wounds sting. The
pointing by the boys would point and it would hurt emotionally for spencer.
Allusion:
“While I looked the other way” an allusion to Jesus turning the other cheek as a form of
forgiveness, like Spencer wanting to forgive the boys.