Hide and Seek and Half past two
Hide and Seek & Half-past Two
Compare how the theme of childhood is presented in the poems Half Past Two and Hide and Seek.
The theme childhood is presented in both the poems but it’s presented differently, it’s presented more like a fantasy story in Half Past Two while in Hide and Seek it’s presented more realistically. Vernon Scanell tells in details about one game of Hide and Seek when he was a kid so perhaps he addresses himself as the little kid while U.A.Fanthorpe was a teacher so she perhaps would’ve written about something she had witnessed.
Half-past Two by U.A. Fanthorpe is a poem about an innocent young boy; it has very cliché fantasy like characters: an innocent hero and a powerful and wicked villain, the poem also begins with a cliché of fairytales, “Once upon.” Capital letters are used by the writer to emphasize on the dominance of the teacher. She is portrayed as a villain, the writer says, “Being cross, she’d forgotten She hadn’t taught him Time.” She is depicted as a short tempered, dominant and a wicked woman while the child is portrayed as a weak, innocent and confused boy, he has no clue about how to read the clock, “He knew the clockface, the little eyes and two long legs for walking, but he couldn’t click its language.” The personification shows his confusion as well as in Half-past Two, the readers feel sympathetic towards the young boy and it makes you realize the innocence of childhood. Time is personified in the end as well, “He escaped into the clockless land” and it also ends with cliché phrase: “for ever”
While Hide and Seek by Vernon Scannell starts by him perhaps telling the story in the present looking back at the past. The poem starts with a positive thought, talks about the seaside, Vernon Scannell uses the word “You” which is ambiguous and it could perhaps mean that he is addressing himself as a kid or he is addressing the readers. There is a sense of excitement and feeling of discomfort at the same time, while playing the
Compare how the theme of childhood is presented in the poems Half Past Two and Hide and Seek.
The theme childhood is presented in both the poems but it’s presented differently, it’s presented more like a fantasy story in Half Past Two while in Hide and Seek it’s presented more realistically. Vernon Scanell tells in details about one game of Hide and Seek when he was a kid so perhaps he addresses himself as the little kid while U.A.Fanthorpe was a teacher so she perhaps would’ve written about something she had witnessed.
Half-past Two by U.A. Fanthorpe is a poem about an innocent young boy; it has very cliché fantasy like characters: an innocent hero and a powerful and wicked villain, the poem also begins with a cliché of fairytales, “Once upon.” Capital letters are used by the writer to emphasize on the dominance of the teacher. She is portrayed as a villain, the writer says, “Being cross, she’d forgotten She hadn’t taught him Time.” She is depicted as a short tempered, dominant and a wicked woman while the child is portrayed as a weak, innocent and confused boy, he has no clue about how to read the clock, “He knew the clockface, the little eyes and two long legs for walking, but he couldn’t click its language.” The personification shows his confusion as well as in Half-past Two, the readers feel sympathetic towards the young boy and it makes you realize the innocence of childhood. Time is personified in the end as well, “He escaped into the clockless land” and it also ends with cliché phrase: “for ever”
While Hide and Seek by Vernon Scannell starts by him perhaps telling the story in the present looking back at the past. The poem starts with a positive thought, talks about the seaside, Vernon Scannell uses the word “You” which is ambiguous and it could perhaps mean that he is addressing himself as a kid or he is addressing the readers. There is a sense of excitement and feeling of discomfort at the same time, while playing the