Maiden Voyage Commentary. The extract from Maiden Voyage by Denton Walsh is about his time as a young boy that was spent in China.
The extract from Maiden Voyage by Denton Walsh is about his time as a young boy that was spent in China. This short extract contains many ideas that Denton intends to bring to the reader through his own experiences. This extract gives an insight into Denton’s mind when he was a young child.
The setting of the poem is set in China, which is far away from Denton’s hometown in Sydenham. “I might have been in Sydenham for all I could see-a European villa and a line of poplars, yet outside lay a Chinese city that I was longing to explore.” The quote gives a clear sign of what is to come, Denton an adventurous European boy in a Chinese city that he is desperate to explore. The phrase “a line of poplars,” describe the European regimentation and orderliness that the boy wants to get away from. The grass in the area was described as “tall rank grass grew in the shadow of a wall. It was dry and sharp as knives.” This shows the unwelcoming nature of the area, the phrase “dry and sharp as knives” further pushes the issue that the area is dangerous and unsafe for people that are intending to explore the area. This serves as a warning of the hostile environment that he would face if he was to continue through the grass and continue exploring the area like he originally intended to.
