On Turning Ten free essay sample

There are 14 sentences and 32 lines, some of them are long, but others are very short so that the reader will think about these in particularly. There is no rhythm scheme, but there is a cadence which links the single lines. The tone of the poem is sad, due to the word choice which Collins chose â€Å"dark blue speed drained out of it† The color blue is a melancholic color which gives a feeling of sadness and drained is a very ruff and harsh word for a ten year old to use. Billy Collins audience is anyone who is willing to look back into their childhood. It is for people who want to remember their childhood and who lived through the same as Collins did. He lets the audience close into the poem by using imagery which reminds the reader of their own childhood. Such as the blue bike, the tree house, wanting to be a wizard or pirate, these are all memories from many childhoods. We will write a custom essay sample on On Turning Ten or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Giving examples of all of the different magical and heroic figures that he wanted to be, lets the reader connect because many of the readers have had the same dreams and beliefs as children. Collins starts the poem with stating what he is feeling to let the audience be touched. He uses images like â€Å"reading in bad light† and â€Å"measles† which are things which happen during the childhood and mixes these with words which are developed and don’t really fit into this childhood theme. â€Å"a kind of measles of the spirit† or â€Å"a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul†. Also that he uses images as chickenpox, which usually only happen once in a childhood, can be linked to starting to grow up. If the chicken pox has come, children think that they are turning older and maturing. On one side he is very unhappy that he has to grow up â€Å"its time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends† but on the other hand he seems to be a bit happy about finally growing up â€Å"the beautiful complexity introduced by two†. Just by reading the poem, it seems as if the child has already matured a lot. Because he is thinking about all of these things, whereas he could just be playing with friends. But he is sitting in bed and thinking about something very important to him. But I can lie on my bad and remember every digit† He does things which are actually very grown up, like â€Å"But now I am mostly at the window watching the late afternoon light†. He does not need to change anything anymore because the way that he acts he is already very mature, that is one of the messages that the author wants to bring in this poem. Collins wants to say with this poem that it i s hard leaving the childhood behind and starting to mature. However since he was not turning ten years old as he was writing this poem, there is a certain irony to it. It shows that even at any age it is possible to feel like having to leave the childhood behind. Or an aspect of life, because there is more responsibility which to be taken, when having a family for example. This poem deals with the realities of growing up, as he refers to turning ten as a disease, similar to chicken pox, because sooner or later, we all get it. We all must grow up, leave our simple and happy lives behind and accept the real world and its burdens that follow coming of age. . The last line of this poem alludes to Shelleys Ode to the West Wind and in the poem Collins is mocking Shelley. It is not about the complexity of becoming older but saying that Shelley was not old enough to look back it is just as insane as a 10 year old looking back on their life when the majority want to be older. This poem shows the reality of becoming older. it is not as exciting as it may seem because it is quite depressing to think that you cannot be a child anymore. not only do others expect more of you because you are now mature, but you expect more of yourself too. it is no longer okay to have an imaginary friend when you are ten. h no, that is no longer cool. in addition your imagination starts to escape you and you no longer find the fun it playing with action heroes or Barbie and Ken. soon enough people expect you to have a boyfriend or girlfriend (youre eleven years old!!! )and you start to give into peer pressure. now you hardly recognize your childhood. it is gone from your grasp and can no longer be retrieved from the depths of your soul. Billy Collins truly portrays this sadness and great loss terrifically with his amazing poetic abilities. st Stanza references to sickness. negative connotations 2nd Stanza -2nd 3rd lines = nostalgic yearning last four lines = humourous childlike dreams and images 3rd Stanza -more serious tine contrasts with previous stanza 4th stanza -repitition of time Conclusion -makes reader reflect on own life and childhood -ironic mature tone. strange for a child to think this way -gives new perspective on aging and how old is old -aging has nothing to do with age, more the extent of the general outlook on life.