Poetry promt 1

Both of these poems tell of adults trying to protect the minds of children. Each takes a different view of children. The authors use two different tones and different words to express contrasting views of children.

A Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur shows parents reassuring a young girl. Wilbur uses dark imagery to show how scary the real world is. Words like “stealthy” and “raw” help send a chill down the audience’s spine. The author uses this technique to show his view of children and the world. He says that innocence in children is real and needs to be protected from the world while they are young.

The History Teacher by Billy Collins takes a different approach to children. While Richard Wilbur believes that children are innocent, Billy Collins thinks that kids behave just as bad as Adults. Collins references the Atomic Bomb and the War of the Roses, two common references to Adults being irresponsible. Then the author drops us into an account of childhood bullying. He shows that kids and adults are just the same.

The authors use two very different tones. The History Teacher uses small and common words to make the teacher’s lessons seem absurd. The first two examples also take credibility away from the teacher’s plans. In the first half of A Barred Owl the tone is set by the words “friend” and “odd.” This tone changes dramatically and uses words like “fear.”

The tones of the two poems are used to examine two different perspectives of children. One is of the innocence, the other of cynicism. Hopefully most of the readers still believe in the innocence of childhood.