Compare how Fanthorpe and Scannel present the experience of being a child in “Half-past Two” and “Hide and Seek”
COMPARE HOW FANTHORPE AND SCANNEL PRESENT THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A CHILD IN "HALF-PAST TWO" AND "HIDE AND SEEK"
In the poems of "Hide and Seek" and "Half-past Two" the poets focus on childhood memories in a tender and emotive way. The titles of both poems begin to recreate these memories i.e. "Hide and Seek:" one of the most popular games played by young children and "Half-past Two:" the time at which the school day draws to a close.
Each of the poems explores a child's perspective using the authors memories and recollections of what it is like to experience life as a child. However by implication the portrayal of childhood memory is in fact from the perspective of an adult looking back with a selective memory. We then begin to realise that the themes of both poems are incisive and symbolic of life itself. "Hide and Seek" explores shattered dreams and spoilt optimism which are the experiences of society in general. "Half-past Two" on the other hand, gives us an image of how time can constrain our imagination. These poems employ techniques such as compound words and epiphanies to help covey the intentions of the poets. In creating the world of the child both poems explore the worries and concerns that children go through in their formative years.
In the poem 'Half Past Two' Fanthorpe has the problem of "Giving a voice to the voiceless." The child has not yet learnt how to master language or understand the implications of time. Fanthorpe does this in various ways. She uses the language of fairytales 'Once upon a schooltime' to imply an image of childhood confusion and innocence. The capital letters of 'He Did Something Very Wrong' illustrate the way a teacher or parent might read to a child and instruct them how to perceive the words on the page. The capital letters also demonstrate his confusion and the godlike fear and respect that he has towards the teacher. The simplicity of the words demonstrates his experience of the world. Despite the lack of the child's voice we still have the voice of the poet and the teacher later on in the poem:
"My goodness, she said,
I forgot all about you"
The tone is almost apologetic and the use of the word 'forgot' implies that the child is unimportant and overlooked. This re-emphasises that Fanthorpe's attempt to "give a voice for the voiceless" has failed. It merely highlights how bewildered the child has been by the events of the day and his inability to understand the rules and principles of adulthood.
The child's inability to understand what he has done wrong is clear by the grammar he uses and his tone:
"Once upon a school time
He did Something Very Wrong"
The use of capitals and emphasis on the word "He" demonstrates that the child is beginning to understand that these things are important but he does not know why. This helps to present the experience of a child, as they are often confused and bewildered by adults and their ways. The phrase "once upon a " brings the reader back to the familiar world of fairystories which are always timeless. The use of the word "schooltime" shortly after defines the real world familiar to the child: a world in which children are berated for misunderstanding the rules:
"(I forget what it was)"
The child can not remember what he did wrong but he does remember the details of the detention. This blaming highlights the absurdity of the school's detention policy but is also a symbol of society as a whole, in that authorities are not always perfect. This helps to show the perspective of a child as children often think that authorities (such as school) are ridiculous and pointless! This shows that childhood is misunderstood by adults and this can often cause problems leading to children being scared of certain adults. This fear can even result in children being too scared to tell adults that they have made a mistake:
"(Being cross, she's forgotten
She hadn't taught him Time;
He was too scared of being wicked to remind her.)"
The use of brackets implies that this statement is unimportant. The sadness of reality is heightened by the fact that "She hadn't taught him Time." The use of capitals is a symbol of importance in that both are controlling and overwhelming to the boy.
As the child doesn't understand time he is lost into "A clockless land of ever" where the child becomes free from objective time and this alien regulation which rules him. ...
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"(Being cross, she's forgotten
She hadn't taught him Time;
He was too scared of being wicked to remind her.)"
The use of brackets implies that this statement is unimportant. The sadness of reality is heightened by the fact that "She hadn't taught him Time." The use of capitals is a symbol of importance in that both are controlling and overwhelming to the boy.
As the child doesn't understand time he is lost into "A clockless land of ever" where the child becomes free from objective time and this alien regulation which rules him. The child experiences something magical that an adult can't understand because they're ruled by regulatory time:
"He knew a lot of time: he knew
Getting-uptime, timeyouwereofftime,
Timetogohomenowtime, Tvtime..."
The use of compound words shows the confused nature of children which helps to conjure up a familiar childhood world. However, this lack of time understanding by the child is juxtaposed by his knowledge of subjective time. His ignorance of clock time is emphasised by the fact that he knows subjective time e.g. 'Timeformykisstime.' This makes his suffering worse because he is told off even though he has no understanding of what he has done wrong. The different way time is perceived shows us how children are controlled by time and how adults are oppressed by it. We feel more sorry for the boy because he lacks the necessary understanding, needed to survive in the adult world.
Fanthorpe further implies that the child is incapable of grasping objective/ mathematical time with the use of personification:
"He knew the clockface, the little eyes
And two long legs for walking
But he couldn't click its language"
The use of personification and animation foregrounds the child's suffering and emphasises his childlike behaviour. The use of the words 'couldn't click' implies that that the child doesn't understand time that he can't 'click' it in his brain. The reader then infers that the child believes the clock is actually telling people the time and that he can only hear the clock going 'tick-tock.' This childish innocence helps to imply the perspective of a child. Once the child has considered his problem, Fanthorpe shows us that the boy has escaped into a timeless world.
"Into the smell of old chrysanthemums on Her desk,
Into the silent noise his hangnail made,
Into the air outside the window, into ever."
There is a definite negative aspect presented by Fanthorpe, this is highlighted by the use of the words "old" and "into ever." This negative approach is a reminder is that time can constrain and prevent imagination because it puts a limit on everyday tasks. We see the use of an oxymoron in "silent noise" and this suggests that the child is experiencing something magical that is beyond all adult understanding. This magical experience helps to emphasise the viewpoint of a child. We also see the use of capital letters on certain words such as "Her." This helps to show the teacher's god-like nature in comparison the child. This infinite clockless land is shattered as the teacher re-enters the classroom:
"And then, My goodness, she said.
Scuttling in, I forgot all about you.
Run along or you'll be late"
The tone is almost apologetic and the word "she" has no capitals implying that the teacher has lost her God-like status. The teacher "scuttles" back in as if she were an insect, which is seen to be a lower life-form than humans which is the antithesis of her initial rank. This change leads to a more positive ending:
"He escaped into the clockless land of ever,
Where the time hides tickless waiting to be born"
The use of the word "born" is a positive image, which leads the reader to believe that the boy's life has just begun. However, the use of the words "ever" and "hides" put a negative aspect on the ending which suggests that children as well as adults will always have something hidden from them.
On the whole, Fanthorpe uses techniques such as oxymorons, purposeful grammatical errors and symbolic imagery in order to create the experience of being a child. The use of an epiphany at the end demonstrates how children reach the milestone where upon they become educated and this changes and furthers the experience of being a child.
Many of these techniques (and others) are used by Vernon Scannel in "Hide and Seek." Despite the similarity in style, a completely different impression is created at the end of the two poems.
The poem "Hide and Seek" begins with "Call out. Call loud I'm ready." The use of short sentences helps to illustrate the excitement of the child. Although "Half-past Two" opens in a much calmer and less eventful way, and yet the experience of being a child is still created. This excited opening results in the child hiding from his friends which are symbolic of threatening outside forces.
"They'll never find you in this salty dark"
The use of the word "They'll" with a capital shows the initial importance of these outside forces, and being in isolation without them can be very disheartening. In comparison with "Half-past Two," Vernon Scannel's poem is very similar in this aspect. Both of them show that exclusion from the outside world can often leave a child hopeless and vulnerable. As the reader we infer that the children in both poems are seen to be unimportant. This is emphasised by the teacher's forgetfulness in "Half-past Two" and the child's 'friends' in "Hide and Seek." It is obvious that children can be easily exploited and humiliated.
"Hide and Seek" and "Half-past Two" are both studies of isolation and in the case of "Hide and Seek," the isolation becomes suddenly painful:
"It seems a long time since they went away"
The child realises that he may have been isolated by his 'friends' and this is similar to the teacher leaving the child in "Half-past Two." However, there is also a difference in the way that each child is isolated: "Half-past Two" shows a child being forgotten about and "Hide and Seek" shows a child being purposefully forgotten about. This implies that children are often overlooked in society because people are impatient or too busy to consider their emotions. The isolation in "Hide and Seek" is very negative and disheartening:
"The bushes hold their breath; the sun is gone
Yes, here you are, But where are they who sought you?"
The poem ends with a questioning tone which is powerful because it is unexpected and abrupt. It also appears to be the end of the day and this is significant because the fall of darkness reflects the gloomy mood as the child realises that rather than gaining victory, he experiences abandonment and disappointment. In comparison, "Half-past Two" has a much more positive ending after the isolation: the child is re-entered into his own time world which even has a momentous image of rebirth in the final lines. This encourages the reader to believe that the boy's life has just begun or it could just be pathetic fallacy.
Within each of the poems, naivety, innocence and ignorance are shown by the children. In the case of "Hide and Seek," this is clearly outlined:
"Don't breathe. Don't move. Stay dumb. Hide in your blindness."
The use of the words "stay dumb" seem to symbolise paralysis and in comparison with the short sentences used at the start of the poem to symbolise excitement, it is very distressing. The use of the words "don't move" show naivety and ignorance because the child does not know that the children who are supposed to be looking for him have actually gone home. This presents the experience of being a child realistically as they are often unaware of what is going on around them. In comparison, this is similar to "Half-past Two" where the child is ignorant and naïve of objective time.
The two poems "Half-past Two" and "Hide and Seek" are also similar in that they present a childhood experience as a microcosm of something with greater relevance:
"Call out. Call loud. ' I'm ready. Come and find me. '
The sacks in the tool-shed smell like the seaside."
There is a sense of childish excitement in "come and find me" and an appeal to childhood memories with sacks which "smell like the seaside." The poet appeals to sight and smell to recreate feelings of childhood. This technique is not used in "Half-past Two" and instead we find the use of compound words which have the same effect.
In presenting the senses in order to evoke memories, Vernon Scannel presents ideas through a stream of consciousness:
"Wiser not to risk another shout.
The floor is cold. They'll probably be searching..."
This illogical order of words helps to present the thinking of a child. This presentation of thought is associative rather than logical because their speech does not go through a thought process unlike adults; where each word is thought about before it is spoken. This is very different from "Half-past Two" in which everything is so carefully planned to the extent where the child's speech and thoughts are not needed and so this results in the child referring to himself in the second perspective. This allows the child to get carried with himself and create extra excitement:
"You've never heard them so hushed before"
The use of the word "you've" shows that he sees himself as part of a story. This helps the child heighten his anticipation. However, this only leads to an extreme let down in the closing stages of the poem. "Half-past Two" on the other hand does not reflect the child's own opinion; this helps to create a far more positive ending.
In "Hide and Seek" there are no regular stanza breaks. This reflects the child's anticipation and the drama of what occurs. This never ending stanza is a symbol of the endless hunting which occurs in "Hide and Seek." Within this long singular stanza, there is the occasional use of rhyming which makes the poem sound like a child's song or game which is typical of a child as they often play games and sing songs. This is very different from "Half-past two" which has regular stanzas involving detention, which is the antithesis of a child's song or game.
Vernon Scannel emphasises the boy's excitement with short intense sentences and this reflects relations to past exciting childhood events.
"Don't breathe. Don't move. Stay dumb. Hide in your blindness."
However, in creating this excitement, it slowly becomes threatening and frightening. The use of the words "stay dumb" are a metaphor for life as one must "stay dumb" in order to survive. The child's excitement is furthered by varied language styles:
"Whatever happens You mustn't sneeze when they come prowling in
And here they are whispering at the door,
You've never heard them so hushed before."
The use of a rhyme on the words "door" and "before" helps to show a childish experience as rhymes are often used to entertain young children. The use of onomatopoeia ("hushed" and "whispered") also help to show the experience of a child. In comparison, "Half-past Two" does not have these samples of onomatopoeia or rhymes and this prevents the build up of excitement which occurs in "Hide and Seek"
The tone completely changes throughout the course of "Hide and Seek." It starts off exciting with short and sharp sentences and then progresses through until the language and tone become darker and more oppressive:
"Your legs are stiff, the cold bites through your coat;
the dark damp smell of sand moves through your throat."
The use of the word "stiff" is similar to rigamortis which is a symbol of death, this is furthered by the use of the word "bites" which is very violent and the suffocation which is apparent as the "sand moves through your throat." The alliteration of "dark damp" is also symbolic of death as the experience becomes painful and the once happy manner is now transferred into images of death and pain.
The change in tone from excitement to fright is magnified towards the end of "Hide and Seek:"
"Here I am! Come and own up, I've caught you!'
The darkening garden watches. Nothing stirs."
What was supposed to be a moment of victory has instead turned to loneliness as the atmosphere becomes threatening. This is heightened by the effect of building up tension and excitement in the earlier part of the poem. This ending is almost the complete opposite of "Half-past Two" where the ending is far more positive and reassuring.
In conclusion, "Half-past Two" and "Hide and Seek" attempt to show the problems and experiences that children go through. In showing this struggle both poems have moments of realisation although one is positive and one is negative. This single contrast results in an extremely different ending for each poem. "Hide and Seek" presents shattered dreams, abandonment and bitter disappointment as we realise no one really cares. This is very dark and distressing when compared to "Half-past Two" which has a far more positive ending where the reader infers that whenever a child is in trouble or confused, a responsible adult will always help them.
When placed side by side, these poems are the completely antithesis of one another and yet they both still manage to present the experience of being a child.
