TO MY NINE YEAR OLD SELF

Question 1

‘TO MY 9 YEAR OLD’
STRUCTURE

Answer 1

• Uneven line lengths mirrors speaker thoughts.
  breaks and pauses - mimick the way memories come in fragments
• lack of structure emphasises fluidity of memories
• lack of formal consraints encapsulates the emotional depth

Question 2

FORM
to my 9 year old

Answer 2

FREE VERSE - no rhyme mirrors free flowing thoughts
fixed stanza pattern with varyling lines - gives natural and conversational feel - emotional depth

Question 3

‘TO MY 9 YEAR OLD’
QUOTES

“You must forgive me. Don’t look so surprised,
perplexed, and eager to be gone
balancing on your hands or on the tightrope.”

Answer 3

• begins with direct plea - establishing emotional distance & recognition of seperation.
• imagery of ‘balancing’ highlights youthful recklessness speaker’s trying to connect with.
• tone of regret & longing

Question 4

‘TO MY 9 YEAR OLD’
QUOTES

“I have spoiled this body we once shared.
Look at the scars, and watch the way I move,
careful of a bad back or a bruised foot”

Answer 4

• acknowledges the physical deterioration that comes with age and the scars—both literal and metaphorical
• emphasises that the body was once one of innocence and vitality, but now it is burdened by the effects of time and experience
• he poet’s intention here is to express both the nostalgia and the acceptance of the reality of aging.

Question 5

‘TO MY 9 YEAR OLD’
QUOTES

PATTERNS - contrasts YvA

Answer 5

CONTRAST BETWEEN YOUTH & ADULTHOOD
TENSION BETWEEN TWO STAGES OF LIFE

Dunmore sets up recurring contrasts between the carefree nature of youth and the weariness of adulthood
“balancing on your hands or on the tightrope” - Vitality & daring VERSUS
“careful of a bad back or a bruised foot” - fragility

Question 6

‘TO MY 9 YEAR OLD’
QUOTES

PATTERNS - nature body

Answer 6

NATURAL BODILY IMAGERY
The body serves as a metaphor for memory and experience

“summer morning,” “scab,” and “rosehips” alongside bodily imagery connects youth with the untamed vitality of nature while adulthood is associated with decay or imperfection.

Question 7

‘TO MY 9 YEAR OLD’
QUOTES

PATTERNS - juxtaposition nostalgia v realism

Answer 7

A RECURRING JUXTAPOSITION BETWEEN NOSTALGIA FOR CHILDHOOD & REALISM OF ADULTHOOD LIMITATIONS

“We made a start, but something else came up” - childhood’s fleeting ambition CONTRASTS with
“Time to hide down scared lanes from men in cars after girl-children”

• juxtapositon reflects complex emotional landscape - comes with passage of time
• the adult awareness of danger and loss