LITTLE BOY CRYING

Jamaican writer Mervyn Morris

Page - 119
Your mouth contorting in brief spite and hurt,
Your laughter metamorphosed into howls,
Your frame so recently relaxed now tight
With three year old frustration, your bright eyes
Swimming tears, splashing your bare feet,
You stand there angling for a moment’s hint
Of guilt or sorrow for the quick slap struck.

The ogre towers above you, that grim giant,

Empty of feeling, a colossal cruel,
Soon victim of the tale’s conclusion, dead
At last. You hate him, you imagine
Chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down
Or plotting deeper pits to trap him in.

You cannot understand, not yet,

The hurt your easy tears can scald him with,
Nor guess the wavering hidden behind that mask.
This fierce man longs to lift you, curb your sadness
With piggy-back or bull fight, anything,
But dare not ruin the lessons you should learn.

You must not make a plaything of the rain.

 SUMMARY
Taken from his collection ‘I been there’, sort of (published in 2006) Mervyn Morris’ perfectly
crafted poem contains within three short stanzas the story of an entire father-son relationship;
the tears, love and misunderstandings that arise when the father, for reasons not obvious in the
poem, disciplines his child by smacking him. The poem begins with the boy’s emotions and his
lack of control over how he acts, and reacts, to things that happened around him. One moment
he is laughing and the next he is crying as his father slaps him. The reaction from the father is
described in the third stanza, but the second is devoted to the boy’s feelings towards his father.
1
He sees him as being a monster, an “ogre,” for having hit him. He imagines all the different
ways that he could kill his father, as if he is part of an imaginary world.
The final six lines stanza speaks of the father’s love for his son and how that love has driven
him to want to teach him important lessons. This particular lesson involves not playing in the
rain. He wants to reach out and comfort his son, but restrains himself in an attempt to teach the
child not to be foolish.
STANZA – 1
Your mouth contorting in brief spite and hurt, deforming, hyperbole, assonance
[Your laughter metamorphosed into howls, changed, assonance
Your frame so recently relaxed now tight] contrast, assonance
With three year old frustration, your bright eyes
Swimming tears, splashing your bare feet, exaggerated imagery in this stanza
You stand there angling for a moment’s hint
Of guilt or sorrow for the quick slap struck. Oxymoron (quick – painless, struck – full of pain)
Alliteration
In the first stanza of this piece, the narrator of the poem is able to look into the mind of the
child, who is the main character, and describe the intense emotions he is feeling. He is young,
only three, and is unable to control himself.
The stanza emphasizes the transition from laughter to sadness, fear, and anger. The first lines
describe the physical appearance of the child as he laughs and how his mouth “contorts” into all
sorts of interesting shapes.
The “laughter” that he was only just enjoying quickly turns to “howls” and his “recently
relaxed” body becomes tight. The poem does not give any further description about what it is
the child has done until the end, but one of his parents, (later revealed to be the father), has
slapped him.
The child’s eyes begin to “swim” with tears. They are so numerous they fall from his face and
hit his feet. His second reaction, after crying, is to pause and hope for some measure of guilt to
show itself on his parent’s face.
STANZA – 2
The ogre towers above you, that grim giant, metaphor, alliteration
Empty of feeling, a colossal cruel, a giant like, metaphor, alliteration
Soon victim of the tale’s conclusion, dead
At last. You hate him, you imagine
Chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down allusion
Or plotting deeper pits to trap him in.

The child is going to be disappointed though as the “ogre” who is standing over him at this
moment shows none of the guilt the child is hoping for him. This person, who is later shown to
be the father, seems to be beyond love at this point. He is not a member of the family, he is a
“giant,” a monster to be abhorred.
The child looks like the father and feels that he must be “Empty,” and if he contains anything it
is “colossal cruelty.” At this moment the child “hates” his father. There is no room for any other
emotion in his young mind.
The child’s mind works creatively, acting off the image of his father as an ogre. He imagines he
can “trap him” in a pit, or cut down a tree he is “scrambling down.” These imaginations help the
child move through the emotions of sadness and anger.
STANZA – 3
You cannot understand, not yet,
The hurt your easy tears can scald him with, burn
Nor guess the wavering hidden behind that mask. metaphor
This fierce man longs to lift you, curb your sadness
With piggy-back or bull fight, anything, use something that has already been done successfully
But dare not ruin the lessons you should learn.
In the final set of lines, the speaker turns to the thoughts of the father but describes them as if
from a distance. There is no true emotion in them, only a description of emotion.
From this new perspective, the reader is able to grasp why it is the father acted in this way. Why
a reader might be wondering, does he not reach down and comfort his child? The speaker
knows a reader will be just as confused as the child is, and makes a point to describe what’s
being done.
First, though, the speaker states that the child’s “tears” have the ability to “scald” the father.
Their presence and the emotions which accompany them, burn the father as if they are acid. He
hates that his child is crying and wants to pick him up. He refrains from doing so, as well as
from any other attempts that might “curb [his] sadness.” This is all in an effort to keep from
“ruin[ing] the lessons” the father believes the child “should learn.”
STANZA – 4
You must not make a plaything of the rain. assonance

The final line of the poem which makes up its own short stanza gives the speaker a glimpse into
what it was that angered the father. This simple statement, “You must not make a plaything of
the rain,” lets the reader know that the child was probably playing around outside and lost
control. Perhaps he was splashing in puddles or running from his father.
Questions and Answers
Q1. Comment on the relationship between the child and the adult in the poem. You
could mention such things as:
a) What you think has happened.
b) The different reactions of the child and the adult to the events.
Ans "Little Boy Crying" by Mervyn Morris is a poem about a father and son who have had a
disagreement. The father has punished his son, and the poem describes the aftermath of this
punishment.
In the poem, it appears that the child has done something wrong, and the father has punished
him. The child is crying, and the father is trying to console him. However, the child is angry and
feels betrayed by his father. The father, on the other hand, is trying to explain to his son why he
had to punish him, even though he doesn't want to see his son cry.
The relationship between the child and the adult in the poem is complex. The child is upset and
feels that his father has betrayed him. He sees his father as the source of his pain and doesn't
want anything to do with him. The father, on the other hand, is trying to do what he thinks is
best for his son, even though it is difficult for him to see his son in pain.
The different reactions of the child and the adult to the events show how difficult it can be to
navigate relationships between parents and children. The child is hurt and doesn't understand
why his father would punish him, while the father is trying to do what he thinks is best for his
son, even if it is painful for both of them. Ultimately, the poem suggests that while the
relationship between parents and children can be challenging, it is important to remember that
both parties are doing the best they can in difficult situations.
Q2. How does Mervyn Morris use language and literary devices to create particular effects?
You could explore the impact of such things as use of language, structure and tone.
Ans In "Little Boy Crying," Mervyn Morris uses language and literary devices to create a
complex emotional atmosphere and convey the complex relationship between the father and
son. Some of the literary devices that Morris uses include imagery, repetition, and metaphors.
Firstly, Morris uses vivid imagery to evoke the emotions and the physical sensations of the
characters. For example, the "proud swelling" in the boy's eyes, the "slobbered" sleeve, and the
"sticky" tears all create a vivid picture of the scene and the feelings of the characters.
Secondly, Morris employs repetition to emphasize the different emotions and the contrasting
perspectives of the father and son. For instance, the phrase "you must" is repeated three times to
highlight the father's insistence on disciplining his son, even though he does not want to see him
crying. Additionally, the phrase "No, no" is repeated twice to show the boy's refusal to accept
his father's explanation.
Thirdly, Morris employs metaphors to illustrate the intensity of the boy's feelings. For example,
the father is compared to a "giant" who is "towers over" his son, while the boy is described as
"tiny" and "helpless." This metaphor creates a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability for the
child.
In terms of structure, the poem consists of three stanzas, each with a varying number of lines.
This structure creates a sense of unease and tension, as the poem seems to be building towards
some sort of resolution or catharsis, which never arrives. Instead, the poem ends with the
father's unresolved attempt at comfort and the boy's unresolved anger and hurt.
Finally, the tone of the poem is poignant and emotional. Morris uses a gentle, almost wistful
tone, to convey the complexity of the father-son relationship, and the difficulty of parenting.
The tone is one of empathy and understanding, which enables the reader to relate to both the
father and son and understand their differing perspectives.
Overall, Morris's use of language, literary devices, structure, and tone in "Little Boy Crying"
creates a powerful and emotionally evocative poem that explores the complexities of family
relationships and the challenges of parenting.
Q3. Write about a shared experience between an adult and child. This can be either real or
imagined.
Ans Imagine a father and his six-year-old daughter are walking in the park on a sunny day.
They come across a group of children playing a game of tag, and the daughter excitedly asks
her father if she can join in. The father agrees, and soon the little girl is running and laughing
with the other children.
As the game continues, the father notices that his daughter is lagging behind and seems to be
getting tired. He slows down and begins to run with her, holding her hand and encouraging her
to keep going. Eventually, the little girl gets a second wind and begins to run faster, with her
father chasing after her and laughing.
As they reach the end of the game, the little girl throws her arms around her father and tells him
how much fun she had. The father hugs her back and tells her how proud he is of her for not
giving up, even when she was tired.
This shared experience between the father and daughter is a moment of bonding and
connection. It is a memory that they will both cherish and look back on with fondness. It also
shows how shared experiences can help build strong relationships between adults and children,
and create positive memories that last a lifetime.