The rebuke and belittlement by the teacher who is in a position of command shows us the harsh existence of being a child.
“And She said he’d done / Something Very Wrong and must/ stay in the schoolroom till half past two.”
The capitalisation focuses on the harshness of the teacher’s voice, which leads to the innocent and ignorant child feeling abashed and ashamed. The criticism of the child has greater reverberations than just in the classroom; it symbolises the way that the weak are treated in the social hierarchy. This is specifically highlighted by the use of the word ‘She’ with its capital letters which illustrates the God-like power, which is placed on a teacher over a child. The defensive tone deployed in the words ‘She hadn’t taught him Time,’ shows us that the boy like people in society tries to put up a futile fight against its tormentors.
The use of compound words like ‘gettinguptime/ timeyouwereofftime’ indicates to us how the boy defines time by aspects of his own experience and are fundamental in showing the restricted stream of consciousness. We can even go as far as saying that the lyrical nature of the word ‘Tvtime,’ shows us how young children like the boy in ‘Half Past Two’ use rhyme to help them decipher time and the comfort they gain from it. The stream of consciousness is also used to a greater extent and depth in ‘Hide and Seek’ to show the ‘sensations’ of being a child as it enables Scannell to idiosyncratically highlight the senses as well as the thought processes of being a child.
The incapability of the child to clasp abstract time is particularly highlighted in the ensuing lines:
“He knew the clockface, the little eyes/ And two long legs for walking/ But he couldn’t click its language.”
We can see from the simplistic child like tone used by the boy that certain words like ‘clockface’ were taken as literal meanings. This personification is a typical characteristic of most children and helps Fanthorpe explain the experience of being a child. This is seen by the use of the words ‘little eyes’ and ‘two long legs,’ as it creates a sense of ingenuousness and shows the beautiful naivety of being a child. The use of the word ‘click’ which can be best described as an insectoid sound is exploited by Fanthorpe to show the repetitive lives of people and in particular how it is ruled by the dispassionate clock.
Not many people would deny that freedom is one of the most essential experiences of being a child and this is seen in the subsequent lines:
“Into the smell of old chrysanthemums on Her desk/Into the silent noise his hangnail made/ Into the air outside the window, into ever.”
This is indisputably a typical example of an epiphany when the boy is unimpeded by the constraints of time, shown by the use of the words ‘into ever.’ The infinity ‘Into ever’ also contains religious overtones as it emphasises a life after death where you are alone and enlightened. This feeling of escapism was induced by the ‘smell of old chrysanthemums,’ which like the smells in ‘Hide and seek’ transport the boy beyond the present world of paradox and magic embodied in the oxymoron ‘silent noise.’ The ‘old’ chrysanthemums evokes the image of the boy suffocating by the smell. The negative connotations are once again shown by the use of the word ‘hangnail.’ A very agonising and excruciating image is created as the boy scratches the table using his half broken nail.
Fanthorpe presents the experience of being a child in the form of everyday experiences like detention. Fanthorpe shows that the child has experienced something more magical than an adult can understand because they are ruled by time. This is however overshadowed by the negative overtones which focuses on the god-like power placed on some mortals over others.
I feel that the ending in ‘Half past two’ is a both positive and negative. The ending is rather nostalgic and this is seen by the use of precise words:
“But he never forgot how once by not knowing time/ He escaped into the clockless land of ever/ Where time hides tick-less waiting to be born.
This feeling of reminiscence is shown by the use of the words ‘he never forgot.’ The ending is particularly affirmative as it shows the happiness felt by the boy as his imagination runs wild and he eludes time into the ‘clockless land of ever.’ Nevertheless the last sentence hides a much more unfathomable meaning, about society and the world, because it shows life ‘tick less waiting to be born,’ emphasising the point that we are born physically but not spiritual. This momentous image of pregnancy encourages us to feel that the boy’s spiritual life has just begun.
There are many similarities and differences between Scannell and Fanthrope; doubtlessly one of the foremost similarities between them is that they both concentrate profoundly on greater social forces. This is seen by the use of the words ‘She’ in ‘Half Past Two’ and ‘They’ in ‘Hide and Seek,’ however the teacher in ‘Half Past Two’ has lost her former god-like status and in the process has lost her capital ‘s’ for ‘she.’ The use of the game ‘Hide and Seek’ in Scannell’s poem is significant to show how children feel about the outside world. This fear of constraint, is seen in the subsequent lines:
“You mustn’t sneeze when they come prowling in/ And here they are whispering at the door/ You have never heard them sound so hushed before.”
In addition to this the use of the words ‘prowling’ and ‘whispering’ are quite threatening and create an image of anxiety, one would agree that the child is feeling hunted. The game of ‘Hide and Seek’ is imbued with greater importance as the boy hides because it is a physical manifestation of his fear of the cruel outside world. The constant intimidation and pressure felt by the boy is shown by the use of the word ‘whispering’ implying that the world is conspiring against him.
Another similarity between the two pieces is that both use everyday prosaic images to present the experience of isolation for a child. This is more evident in ‘Hide and Seek’ as the child is left alone with its thoughts, seen in the subsequent lines:
“But be careful that your feet aren’t sticking out/ wiser not to risk another shout/ the floor is cold.”
Isolation is particularly seen by the fact that the boy is left alone with his senses: ‘floor is cold.’ It is also a key element in ‘Half Past Two’ when the boy had to ‘Stay in school until half past two.’ The lesson that people have a habit of abandoning one in life is picked up again by Fanthorpe’s ‘Half Past Two’ where the child is forgotten in detention. Both the poems paint a very vivid picture of naivety and innocence of childhood.
The thought processes of being a child are very important. The use of stanza breaks is one of the main differences between the poets as Scannell uses the lack of stanza breaks to reflect the child’s anticipation and enthusiasm of playing the game. This is revealed by the use of the precise words ‘Come and find me!’ which instil the feeling of a fast, lively and vigorous game. Fanthorpe on the other hand has many short disjointed stanzas to show the organisation of the adult poetic voice and to indicate the divisions of time and thinking.
The stream of consciousness also shows the child’s excitement and gusto, which is shown by the effusive mixture of ‘me’ and ‘you’ as he emphasises his exhilaration. The mixture of these words can also be interpreted that the child is nervous and petrified of the social forces, which are at work in the modern society. Alternatively the child’s thrill in ‘Half Past Two’ is shown by the array of compound words used like ‘notimeforthatnowtime,’ as they show the emotions and feelings rushing through his mind as he seeks comfort in the familiar world.
One of the foremost differences between the two poems is that there are a lot of rhyme and alliteration in ‘Hide and Seek’ compared to ‘Half Past Two’ where the syntax used is much more conversational. The use of rhyming can be seen in the ensuing lines:
“Your legs are stiff, the cold bites through your coat/ the dark damp smell of sand moves in your throat.”
The negative overtones running throughout ‘Hide and Seek’ show the pain of childhood and this is seen by the use of the word ‘bite.’ This aggressive personification of the cold creates the same chilling image of anguish, as does the hangnail in ‘Half Past Two.’
Alliteration is another language technique deployed by Scannell to show the intricate thought processes of a child and this is particularly seen in the following lines:
“The dark damp smell of sand moves in your throat.”
The use of rhyme in the specific words ‘coat’ and ‘throat’ sounds like a child’s game and further shows the internal workings of a child’s mind. It further shows the experience of being a child’s because it focuses on how children can’t control their thoughts; it almost appears like a big out pouring, which is stereotypical of a young child’s talk. The negative overtone is again highlighted by the once happy memory of the sea –side is now transformed into quiet torture as the ‘dark damp smell of sand moves through your throat.’ The sibilance of ‘sand’ shifting as if suffocating you has the same bleak and depressive effect to the ‘smell of old chrysanthemums’ in Half Past Two.’ I feel that the tone change is bought about by Scannell to heighten the sense of realisation for the child, when he discovers that he has been abandoned. Scannell is recreating the feelings of childhood by re-creating memories using all the senses.
A sense of barrenness is created by the depressing tone seen in the consequent lines:
“ The darkening garden watches. Nothing stirs. The bushes hold their breath; the sun is gone./ Yes, here you are. But where are they sought you?
The desolation is particularly highlighted by the pathetic fallacy, which is highlighted by the words ‘the sun is gone.’ This is emphasised further by the pessimistic tone ‘darkening garden watches.’ The questioning tone of the final sentence creates a sense of uncertainty, which is all the greater because it is sudden and unexpected. This is a vast contrast to ‘Half Past Two,’ where the ending is much more serene and peaceful seen by the apologetic tone employed by the teacher in the end when see remarks ‘run along or you’ll be late.’’
‘Hide and Seek’ seems more pragmatic because it is from a child’s perspective whereas the poetic voice in ‘Half Past Two’ is an adult filled with nostalgia. We can see that both poems show everyday prosaic experiences, which reflect something with far greater resonance. In ‘Half Past Two’ the boy is controlled by the oppressive force – She, who puts the boy in detention. However the message in ‘Hide and Seek’ is much darker, by using the game of ‘Hide and Seek’ to highlight the greater social evils that are present in modern day society. ‘Hide and Seek’ looks at the more cruel and harsh side of society where people are left alone to defend for themselves in ‘blindness.’ The anti-climax created in ‘Hide and Seek’ shows shattered dreams, spoilt optimism and more notably the bitter realisation that at the end of the day no one really cares. In ‘Hide and Seek’ the truth of abandonment is juxtaposed by the greater resonance of the darker social forces.