In ‘Old Man, Old Man’ old age is seen as the loss of independence and how that has changed how the old man lives compared to how he lived when he was younger and more independent ‘Things in bottles with tacky labels. He was always / a man who did it himself.’ The quote shows that things have to be labelled so he doesn’t get muddled and it is a great loss of independence for him as he had always done things his way. ‘The jokes you no longer tell as you forget.’ The quote suggests that the man use to enjoy life and had a sense of fun.
The poems are told from different points of view. ‘Warning’ is told from the point of view of a middle-aged woman and it is told from in the first person using words like ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘you’. ‘Old Man, Old Man’ is told from a narrator’s point of view. Because the narrator is talking third person words are used such as ‘He’ make the poem less personal and without any feelings.
The tones used in ‘Warning’ are mostly positive as at the start of the poem the writer is looking forward to all the things she can do when she is old. In the third stanza the tone changes to regret because the writer can’t do the things she wants to do yet as she have expected responsibilities and actions such as ‘have friends to dinner’ and ‘read the paper.’ The way the poem is told is humorous as you can’t imagine an elderly person sitting on the pavement if they are tired or eating all the samples in shops ‘I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired / And gobble up samples in shops.’ The last stanza adds to the humour because all the way through the poem she says she is going to do these things when she is old but decides to do them now as ‘not too shock’ people when she is ‘suddenly old’. Using the world ‘suddenly’ is unusual, as you can’t suddenly become old it happens gradually.
The tones used in ‘Old Man, Old Man’ are mostly negative as the poem looks at the down points of being old and the problems old age brings ‘Now his hands shamble among clues’. The poem is told is in a sympathetic and gentle manner. The poem is told in a way that shows that the narrator feels sorry for the old man and his lack of independence and helplessness. It also shows that the narrator wants to help him ‘Let me find your hammer. Let me / Walk with you to Drury Lane.’
The language used in ‘Warning’ is colourful, upbeat and vibrant through the writer’s use of adjectives to describe every point she makes ‘summer gloves,’ ‘satin sandals’. The language used in ‘Old Man, Old Man’ is much darker and depressive, as the poem focuses on the down points never the up ‘self demoted in your nineties to washing up’, ‘the jokes you no longer tell as you forget.’
Both poems are effective in their views and the way they come across. ‘Warning’ brings a sense of amusement and happiness across, making the poem so effective. I feel that the lady is a positive role model due to her upbeat attitude to old age ‘Old Man, Old Man’ makes you feel sympathetic towards the man and the situation he is in. After reading ‘Old Man, Old Man’ I wanted to help him re-gain some of his independence.
Using both poems together you can get a fairly balanced idea of old age, appreciating both the loss of independence and the chance to do things that you were unable to do in the past due to other commitments or responsibilities.