“Childhood” is about John Clare’s early memories; it has many references to things that he remembers when he was younger. In the first stanza he refers to his school, in the second stanza he mentions animal pens where he used to play, in the third stanza he mentions some of the animals. In the fourth stanza he refers to exploring over meadows, the fifth stanza tells us of the games that he played and his use of imagination and the last stanza tells us that he has lost this ‘paradise’ and he regrets this.
There is good use of language in Childhood; in the first stanza he describes the desk as “the heavy old desk”. This is simple descriptive language. He then goes on to talk about how he loved the old church. He has used descriptive language in the second and third stanzas, it sets the scene which is his area where he played and it gives you a good image of what is going on. The language in the second three stanzas is more childish e.g. ‘pootys’and in these verses he explains more about his childhood. In the last stanza the language and tone of the poem change because the last stanza is about the regret of growing up. There is good use of metaphors and good use of similes, which helps with the scene of the poem. There is no alliteration used in this poem but I feel it is not needed because John Clare has used other language, which is impressive. He uses onomatopoeia in the last stanza; this is used to describe the sound of the swing, “The mile-a-minute swee”. He uses dialect words in this poem ‘heps’ along with others I feel that this gives the poem authenticity of the time and place.
In the first line we can see that the tone is very affectionate, it is a childlike tone and it shows an excitement. “ O dear to us ever the scenes of our childhood, the green spots we played in, the school where we met”. The detail in the first stanza tells us he is familiar with these places even in adult life. The use of first person is good because it makes it personal. The plural also draws the reader in because it makes the reader feel part of the poem.
In the first three stanzas he writes about places, scenes and nature but in the second three he looks at his past time and occupation of early days.
The title of the poem “Follower” has many different meanings, one possibility is that the father follows the horses, another one is he is following his father and another is that once Heaney was the follower now it is his father who follows. Heaney has written this poem using simple language, he used good structure and the language is more economical than Clare’s. He wrote this poem in regular form in quatrains of alternate rhyme.
This poem explores the relationship Heaney has with his father; it is a poem of recollection of the skills of a by gone age. In the first stanza we can see that Heaney is proud of his father’s skill and he recognises that it was a skill, he shows us he respect and admiration for his father yet he decides not to follow him. At the start of the second stanza he refers to his father as ‘an expert’. This is because he can control the horses with ease. In the third stanza it explains more about the concentration and control his father has over the horse. As we can see the first three stanzas are all about the way of farming life and the control his father had over the horses.
In the second to the forth stanza Heaney tells us that he was always falling behind his father and he was then put on his father’s back to keep him out of the way. In the fifth stanza he says, “ I wanted to grow up and plough.” This emphasises his childhood ambition is to emulate his father, but he feels guilty because knows he would never match the skill of his father and as he is the oldest son he knows h will inherit the farm. The last stanza is the most important to understand,
“I was a nuisance me, tripping, falling, yapping always.
But today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away.” There is now a role reversal and Heaney is now caring for his father but he doesn’t show the same patience as his father had for him.
This tells us that he was once the nuisance but time has passed and now his father is old and keeps falling, so the roles have reversed.
The language in this poem is simple and detailed. Technical terms are used to describe the ploughing. This shows us he knows a lot about this topic. There are not many metaphors used but a good simile is used in verse one: “His shoulders globed like a full sail strung” which means his shoulders were big and powerful when he was working with the plough. He uses vivid language at the end of the third stanza. This tells us how much he knows about it. Verbs play an important role in this poem. In the fourth stanza he uses words like ‘stumbled’ this tells us that he was young when he followed his father and he followed him until he was old enough to plough it himself. Rhyme is alternate in this poem and there is regular rhythm, especially in the first three verses. The rhythm and rhyme is in keeping with skill, great control and confidence.
In the last stanza it is important to realise that time has passed and so much has changed. It is also important to note the change in tone from past to present tense and that his father is now old. There is also a sense of impatience and irritation with the last phrase “will not go away”. This means different things to different people. It could mean that old people are sometimes a nuisance and people get impatient with them.
It is also important to remember that Heaney chose another way of life that took him away from his roots, and the passage of time has distanced him from his father.
My conclusion is that Clare used good language to recall his childhood, but I don’t think that it was well structured. Heaney used good language and good structure to express his childhood. I think that Heaney’s poem was better because of these reasons. I think that it is easier to read and it can be identified with. It is based on his childhood and he is following his parent, which we all do when we were children. We will all have to face the day when we will become the carers, not our parents.
Daniel Wilson
