Compare and contrast the way the childhood is presented in "Piano" by D.H. Lawrence, "My parents kept me from children who were rough" by Stephen Spender and "Half-past two" by U. A. Fanthorpe

Compare and contrast the way the childhood is presented in “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence, “My parents kept me from children who were rough” by Stephen Spender and “Half-past two” by U. A. Fanthorpe

In all three poems the poets present childhood in different and exceptional way. In “Piano”, childhood is presented in a very idealistic way. The poet is remembering the good old times when he was sitting under the piano and listening to his mother tenderly singing a powerful song. He remembers his loving mother, and all the factors surrounding her, only having a positive atmosphere. When on the other hand Stephen Spender is describing himself being teased and abused by his own peer mates in his youth. We can sense the fright and dread in the poem. Whereas towards the end, the poet forgives the awful children, and she even tries to make friends. The poem “Half-past two” is about a child, who gets a detention until 2.30pm, but doesn’t know time. He fears that it will never end and feels lost. In the end the situation leads him to a shocking and unforgettable experience.

Though all the poems present childhood in different ways, innocence is the main point in all of them. In “Half-past two” it is presented through language. The words are easy and sometimes made-up from a child’s point of view of how life is.

‘he knew a lot of time: he knew

Gettinguptime, timeyouwereofftime’

‘Gettinguptime’ is an invented word to emphasise the lack of knowledge of the child. He is still young and hasn’t been taught many things, so the poet uses the normal actions of a child’s day and creates words to describe it in a very basic way. Fanthorpe is showing clearly that the child was very pure in his unknowledgeable nature. While in “Piano” Lawrence is presenting the innocence through the child’s action. He is sitting under an ancient piano listening to his mother softly singing.

‘A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings

And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings’

This shows the immaturity and purity of the child. He is sitting under the piano, which expresses the young age of the character, because when you become older, then you understand that it is not the right place to be. In addition, the way in which the poet remembers his mother is only positive and warm, it is quite silly because when children grow up they lose the appreciation for the simple and pure family moments. In “My Parents kept Me from Children Who were Rough” we can also see the innocence. Stephen Spender is expressing it through action as well as feelings. He is being mocked and abused, having no knowledge nor experiences of how to deal with such problem, he is forgiving the peer mates and even tries to strike up a friendship with them.

‘ And I looked another way, pretending to smile

I longed to forgive them, yet ...

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‘ And I looked another way, pretending to smile

I longed to forgive them, yet they never smiled.’

Those two lines present the undeveloped strengths in his character that usually appear in children’s youth. He wasn’t strong enough to stand against the mean boys or ignore their inappropriate remarks. Instead he was trying to be a friend of their – ‘pretending to smile’ points out that he wasn’t really happy, but just wanted to satisfy the bullies. Even though the youngsters never accepted him, as the last line ‘I longed o forgive them, yet they never smiled’ suggests. Older people would realise that such kind of bullies are not worth worrying about, and there is no point in paying any attention to them. Overall, the innocence in all of the poems creates sympathy towards the characters.

The language between the poems contrasts. In “Half-past Two”, it is very simple and from child’s perspective, in “My Parents kept Me from Children who were Rough” and “Piano”, the verbal communication with the reader is rather difficult, because adult language has been used – difficult phrases and complicated words that a child wouldn’t know. Fanthorpe is using childlike language structure; using invented and simple words.

‘Once upon a schooltime

He did Something Very Wrong’

The first line of the poem starts with ‘Once upon’ which refers to fairytales. It gives us straight away an impression of childishness. Similarly the impression, that the word pair is expressing, continues in the second line, where ‘Something Very Wrong’ is written in capital letters. This is presented to emphasise the importance of the deed. The poet is using very simple words to put across the message that the child is innocent in his knowledge. There are also onomatopoeic words, like ‘click’ and ‘tick-less’ to highlight the fact that the poem is from the child’s viewpoint, because little children aren’t familiar with the correct words. While Lawrence is using rather difficult and complicated words, to emphasize the fact that the poem is actually written from adult’s prospective to his childhood as a memory.

‘In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart if me weeps to belong’

The word ‘insidious’ is a relatively intricate word that a 10-year-old child wouldn’t understand, so it indicates that this poem is written from a grownup’s point of view. The two lines are overall very poetical, so the readers could sense the maturity of the poem. Spender is likewise using the same technique; he is very lyrical via comparisons, similarities and descriptions to create an expression of fear in the character.

‘I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron

And their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms.’

The first line is a comparison to animals that children are scared of most – the tigers. This also describes the way the bullies acted – wild and vigorously. But at the same time, the second part of the line ‘muscles like iron’ is a similarity that refers to a more grownup way of thinking. The next line is especially descriptive to emphasise the iniquity of the boys. This section of the poem is very effective in creation of dread and horror, as well as showing the vulnerability of the character. Spender also uses verbs that give the poem action and speed, like ‘threw’, ‘ran’, ‘climbed’ and ‘sprang out’. He describes the fact that the boys followed the poet everywhere and they were very active.

Though all the poems are about childhood, the atmosphere differs in all of them. In “Half-past Two” Fanthrope is creating a feeling of fear, dread and confusion throughout the poem until the last stanza, where the horror turns into a conclusion of unforgettable reminiscence.

‘He knew he’s escaped for ever

Into the smell of old chrysanthemums on her desk

’

It describes the confusion of the child and makes the reader feel like something terrifying is happening, because there should be no reason why a young child should escape from the world full of wonderful explorations to another dimension in his head. Towards the end of the poem the atmosphere changes into shock.

‘But he never forgot that once by not knowing the time’

The situation was so horrible and dramatising for the child that he never forgot, not even in the far future, when he grew up, that once in his childhood he didn’t know the time. That clearly demonstrates to the reader the complicated mental condition the character had passed through at that infantile age.

In the closing stage the poet states an unfathomable sentence that describes the life, as it would be without civilisation.

‘Where time hides tick-less waiting to be born’

This shows that even if we wouldn’t have clocks or any machinery that expresses time, then time would still pass, no matter what. It grants the poem with a mysterious closing. On the other hand the atmosphere in “Piano” is warm and cosy due to numerous positive descriptions.

‘To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside

And hymns in the cosy parlous’

This illustration creates affectionate feeling, because there is cold and freezing winter outside while the child with his family is sitting at home and enjoying the cosiness. The word “Hymns” expresses the patriotic aura of the family, which is a sign of great love amongst its members. It equally gives an impression of protection. His home – the walls, the windows, the door; they are defending him from the frosty coldness. However, towards the last lines of the poem, the atmosphere rapidly changes into sorrow of the poet. The reader could almost hear through the words, the tears of the poet.

‘My manhood is cast’

‘I weep like a child for the past.’

Lawrence is saying that he is like giving everything that makes him a man away and cries for the past, because he misses his mother and the valuable family time so much. Now the tone has transformed from comfy and peaceful into grief and sadness. The word ‘weep’ emphasises his desperation. It has been used in comparison ‘weep like a child’ which highlights the fact how much he misses the past. This kind of memories make him even feel like a child. Whereas on the other hand Spender creates the feeling of trepidation and sympathy for him, because of the abuse of his peer mates.

‘I feared the salt coarse pointing of these boys.’

The metaphor is used to create the atmosphere of fear. It expresses the pain that the poet goes through: when you put salt on your wound, it hurts terribly. Spender is comparing this pain to the action of boys. While towards the closing stage of the poem, the atmosphere changes into forgiveness of the poet.

‘I longed to forgive them, yet they never smiled’

Spender tries to make friends and exonerate the bullies, but they never wanted to be friends with him. It creates sympathy for the poet, because no matter how hard he tries, he isn’t even given a chance to be a friend with those boys. It is especially important for young children to play and learn the marvels of life. But he didn’t have anybody.

In all of the poems the atmosphere is changing towards the ending, though in each poem in a different direction.

In conclusion all three poets present childhood in very different ways, however the central theme is innocence, though each poet expresses it in his own unique way. In ‘Half-past two’ this main key point is presented though fear and dread. Whereas Lawrence has put it across through sweet memory of a beloved mother. While “My parents kept me from children who were rough” expressed innocence through lack of maturity and knowledge to handle a complicated situation.