Exploring 'My Parents' by Stephen Spender



Summary 

In this poem, the speaker's parents keep him away from children who are rough. They do this in order to protect him from their aggression and unpredictable behaviour. These children are  verbally and physically abusive towards the speaker and this drives fear in him. However, it is seen that he longs to forgive them, but they do not change their attitude and actions towards him.

Stanza 1

The speaker declares that his parents keep him from children who are aggressive. These children say hurtful words and wear torn clothing. They also run in the streets, climb cliffs and strip by country streams. The speaker and the other children are from different backgrounds - his parents are protective of him while the other children do not seem to be under much parental control.

Stanza 2

The speaker is afraid of these children and voices this fear. He is terrified of their iron-like muscles, even more than he fears tigers. He is afraid of the way their hands jerk him and the pain he feels when they kneel on his arms. He is also fearful of the way they taunt his lisp behind his back. These children are bullies and abuse the speaker mercilessly.

Stanza 3

The speaker continues to give more information about the children's hostility. He reveals that they jump from behind hedges like dogs to bark at his world. Comparing the children to dogs sustains the speaker's intention to portray them in a combative light. Their attitude towards his world suggests that there is something about his social status or circumstances that offends them or fills them with bitterness. It is possible that they are jealous.  The speaker also shares that when they throw mud at him, he looks the other way and hides his hurt by pretending to smile. The speaker wants to forgive the children but they do nothing to indicate that they are willing to 

Literary Devices

NOTE: It is important that you to have knowledge of the literary devices that are used in this and other poems on the prescribed list. Poets incorporate literary devices in their poems to help them in conveying central themes, setting and characters.

Contrast

  1. The little boy is fearful of the street children but at the same time he longs to forgive them.
  2. The speaker (the little boy) is different from the other children. The little boy is forgiving and vulnerable while the other children are bullies because it seen where they physically and verbally abuse him.
  3. The other children do not seem to have parental supervision while the speaker is being kept away (protected) from rough children by his parents. 


Simile

The similes that are used reveal the terror the speaker feels because of the other children's actions and present the intensity of the children's physical and verbal abuse.

Examples

"who threw words like stones"
" I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron"
"like dogs to bark at my world"


Exaggeration/Hyperbole: "I feared more than tigers their muscles....' 

Tigers are fearsome creatures and if the speaker declares that he fears their muscles more than these animals, this highlights the intensity of his fear as well as the aggression of the children. Clearly, these children leave him in a petrified state. 

Imagery

The imagery in the poem captures the children's appearance and actions as well as the speaker's attitude to what he experiences.

Visual: "who wore torn clothes", "They ran in the street", "They threw mud while I looked the other way, pretending to smile"

Tactile: "Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms"

Auditory: "Who copied my lisp behind me on the road"

* Please note that there are more examples of imagery in the poem. You can do close reading and spot some more.


THEMES
  • Childhood experiences
  • Parenting
  • Forgiveness

This poem is often paired with 'Once Upon a Time', 'Dreaming Black Boy' or Little Boy Crying' for comparative essay writing purposes. 

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