Poems of the Decade A* comparison essay - Exploration of childhood
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Course
Unit 3 - Poetry
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
Exam-style question: Compare the way in which poets explore childhood in “To My Nine-Year-Old Self” by Helen Dunmore and one other poem of your choice.
Comparison essay question of "To My Nine-Year-Old Self" by Helen Dunmore and "An Easy Passage" by Julia Copus based on Poems of the Decade an...
Compare the way in which poets explore childhood in “To My Nine-Year-Old Self” by Helen Dunmore
and one other poem of your choice. (An Easy Passage)
Both “To My Nine-Year-Old Self” by Helen Dunmore and “An Easy Passage” by Julia Copus explore the
subject of childhood. In Self, a one-sided conversation between the adult narrator and their younger
self, Dunmore explores childhood through the nostalgic reminiscence and regrets of the adult looking
back on their youth. On the other hand, Passage uses a single suspended moment in time to explore the
contrasts between an innocent younger girl and an older woman to delve into the topic of childhood.
Both poems have an adult character and child character whom Dunmore and Copus effectively compare
and contrast to appreciate certain aspects of childhood.
Firstly, both poets explore childhood by presenting it as care-free and utopian by juxtaposing the
experience with the rigidity and harshness of adulthood. Childhood and adulthood are symbolized by
the adult and the child and the adults in each poem are firmly set apart from the children through the
poem’s language. In Passage, the girls are described as being, “far too, most far,” from the secretary.
The repetition of “far” causes the reader to realise that not only are the girls physically far from the
older woman, but metaphorically too. Similarly, the narrator of Self admits, “the truth is we have
nothing in common,” to her younger self. The adult narrator has changed greatly as she transitioned
from childhood to adulthood. The two vastly different stages of life are set apart; this distinction allows
the poets to contrast the two characters and the stages of life they symbolise to explore childhood. Both
poems compare the differences of the bodies and countenances of the adults and the children in each
poem. In Self, the narrator claims, “You would rather run than walk, rather climb than run rather leap
from a height than anything,” about her younger self. The dynamic verbs “run”, “climb”, and “leap”
portray childhood as exciting and enjoyable. The use of the word “rather” proves that this is a choice
that the nine-year-old is making – despite the dangers of such exercise – and thus, portrays the girl as
care-free. The polysyndeton present also quickens the pace of these lines, conveying the boundless
energy of childhood. However, this is juxtaposed with the future body of the narrator – which is
damaged – “watch the way I move, careful of a bad back or a bruised foot.” This line contains assonance
to convey how the adult narrator is anxious of the injuries done to her body, but the plosive alliteration
of the ‘b’ sound reminds the narrator and the reader of the severity of the damage and the bitterness of
having a broken body. Likewise, in Passage, the narrator says, “For now both girls seem lit, as if from
within.” The light imagery here suggests the girls are glowing with the freedom provided by childhood,
but the “for now” hints that this will pass with their childhood. Contrasted with this, is the more
unpleasant imagery of the “flush-faced secretary.” The red and sweaty adult’s visage, instead, suggests
the rough and tiring nature of adulthood. Hence, both poems use the symbols of the adult and child to
portray childhood as care-free and enjoyable, and this is juxtaposed and enhanced through the portrayal
of adulthood as tough and unpleasant.
Similarly, both poets explore childhood by comparing the children’s complete immersion in the present
with the adults’ worrisome and constant fretting over the future – portraying childhood as enviable.
“For now, the house exists only for them,” explains the narrator in Passage. To the girls, their presence is
the center of their world and nothing else matters. The entire poem itself is a single suspended moment
in time of this girl climbing into her house with the poem being written in the present tense. This
concentration of a single moment expanded over the entire narrative displays how present the girls are
in this task – and the focus and attention that this moment in youth deserves. Likewise, in Self, the
narrator tells her younger self that she shall leave her, finally, “in an ecstasy of concentration slowly
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