It is very normal for every middle-aged person to be worried about the prospect of growing old. People usually pretend to be young always and try to postpone old age. On the contrary, the speaker, in this poem “Warning”, looks forward to, being old. She foresees the freedom of being old, when people will stop expecting her to behave in a responsible manner. The poem conveys both her excitement at her plans for growing old and her frustration at the way she is expected to behave now.
The speaker dreams of all that she will do when she grows old, like spending frivolously on brandy, summer gloves and satin sandals instead of satisfying the essential needs. She wants to sit on pavements, gobble up samples in shops, press alarm bells, run the stick along the public railings and go out in slippers in the rain. She expresses her desire to pick flowers in other people’s gardens, spit everywhere and fulfil her heart’s desire without needing to be concerned about anybody or anything.
She wants to rebel against the ways in which she is expected to be a role model to her children and respect the norms of society. The poem uses the imperative “must” frequently, implying that there is a set of rules to follow which seem to be boring the woman. But she expresses her desire to “make up for the sobriety of her youth”. She consoles herself with the thought that others will accept her childish actions, when she gets old.
Though the title and tone of the poem try to sound a big warning and create a sense of rebellion, it makes the readers feel light and enjoy the humour it produces. Jenny Joseph deserves a big applause for her success in presenting old age as a positive experience.
The poet writes this poem in free verse. In the first and the last stanzas the speaker presents her own longings and dreams with the use of ‘I’. In the second stanza the persona addresses with the word ‘you’ to indicate that this problem is also pertaining to others who have reached middle age. In the third stanza, by using ‘We’, she points out the moral code every one is expected to follow in life.
Though the poem sounds very simple, its fame increased rapidly. Many women’s groups have been formed based on the theme of the poem. Some have even put on Plays about the poem and others have written related poetry about getting older joyfully.
By: Abdurrhman Ahmed Al-Shimi
