I think the boy in 'Half Past Two' has a sheltered life because he has a set time. For example, "TVtime, timeformykisstime…schooltime." This shows that the boy does not know the real times because he does not know the real world. When the boy is left alone in the classroom the narrator says, "the silent noise his hangnail made." I think this is exaggeration for effect to show that the boy has never been left alone and as this is a new experience he does not know what to do with his spare time. These two points are also shown in 'Old Man'. The old man also has a sheltered life now from the outside world because it says, "old man, so obdurate in your contracted world." In the poem there is a sense that he is also unaware of normal life which goes on around the house. For example the narrator says "your wife could replace on the walls those pictures of disinherited children and you wouldn't know." This also shows that his contracted world is also to do with his personal life around the household. This is a great contrast from before when he was described as, "lifelong adjuster of environment." Now the old man is described as, "Now you ramble in your talk…and living in almost dark." This almost gives the impression of silence. This is because darkness conveys the impression of night and night conveys the impression of silence. So the old man's life is silent because there is no one in his life to care for him since he does not want help from anyone considering that he will loss his sense of power.
In 'Half Past Two' the child has so much time that he can spare it on the other hand the old man is running out of time in life because to is getting older. I think both of them don't know what to do with time. For example when the boy is in the classroom in silence he does not know what to do so he just sits there and waits for somebody to come to him. The old man does not know what to do with the time he has left because I get the impression that he sits most of the day in his contracted world.
Fanthorpe adds little similarities in each poem. For example both of the poems deal with forgetting things. In 'Half Past Two' the narrator says, "He did Something Very Wrong (I forget what it was)" and the teacher says, "I forgot all about you." In 'Old Man' the daughter says, "have you forgotten the jokes you no longer tell." I think the idea of forgetfulness is a sign of guilt. For example the child might feel guilty for what he has don't wrong and the teacher feels guilty for leaving the boy by himself. The old man might feel guilty for not being good with daughters. In the language Fanthorpe uses, some of it is the same. For example in 'Half Past Two' the language used is, "teatime, nextime," which is similar to 'Old Man' when she says, "A man who did-it-himself." Both of the sentence shows words connected together. On the other hand the language can be very different, for example in 'Half Past Two' the narrator says, "so he waited, beyond onceupona." However in 'Old Man' the language is more eloquent, for example "Lord of once of shed, garage and garden…world authority on twelve different sorts of glue, connoisseur of nuts and bolts." Fanthorpe uses Italics when someone is speaking in the first person in both poems. In 'Half Past Two' Fanthorpe uses Italics when the teacher says, "My Goodness, I forgot all about you. Run along or you'll be late." In 'Old Man' Italics are used when the old man says, "I can see you…but only as a cloud."
Another important contrast is the emotion in the poems. In 'Half Past Two' the poem shows humour because the boy has made such an everyday moment into such an elaborate concept. In 'Old Man' you feel pathos and sadness for him because he has no one left in his life and he will not accept any help from people. Another contrast is that as a child you would probably spend a little time outside when it is time to play. However in 'Old Man' there are a lot of times when the narrator refers to the outside. For example she says, "Lifelong adjuster of environments, Lord once of shed, garage and garden…World authority on twelve different sorts of glue, connoisseur of nuts and bolts…dab hand with the Black and Decker." The words environment, shed, garage, and garden are all things outside. The words glue, nuts and bolts, and Black and Decker all evoke the picture that they are in a shed with is outside and separate from the house. This shows that he is isolated from his family whereas the young boy in 'Half Past Two' is definitely not isolated from his family because he was so new to silence that he did not know what to do with his spare time.
The formations of both the poems are the same. They both have eleven stanzas with three lines each except for the last stanza in 'Old Man' where it has only two lines. This emphasises the last verse.
I think the main point about the poems is that the old man becomes a child just like the child in 'Half Past Two'. He needs help even if he does not want it and he becomes vulnerable. He had authority and power before but now he has lost it all with age he has no power over people like a child has no power over people. He is not in control of his own life now because he needs help from his daughter just like a child. At the end of the poem the daughter says, "Let me walk with you." This shows she is supervising him as much as she can and can not leave him alone just like a child has to be watched all day.
