To My Nine Year Old-Self By Helen Dunmore Flashcards
Title
Dramatic monologue
Written as a diary entry
Foreshadows that the poem will contain private thoughts and experiences
Stanza 1
first line : “You must forgive me.”
“rather run than walk, rather climb than run, rather leap from any height than anything”
Imperative verb causes sentence to be forceful.
Use of caesura after “forgive me.” creates a reflective tone
Parallel syntax highlights emphasis of the energetic, carefree nature of childhood
Stanza 2:
“I have spoiled this body”
“scars”
“bad back or a bruised foot”
“Do you remember”
“jump straight out of the ground floor window”
Semantic field of injury and damage which contrasts with previous liveliness in stanza 1
A body can be spoilt through childbirth, pregnancy, age and accidents.
use of remorseful tone - woman mourning her youth
“scars” could be psychological or emotional
Her body is battered by experience
Rhetorical question - reminiscent and nostalgic
jumping through windows of opportunities
Stanza 3:
“dream”
“white paper to write it on”
“wasp trap” and “den by cesspit”
Fantasy, childhood, ambitions limitless
Symbolic of innocence, blank slate, pure youth
Dramatic irony as she grows up becoming a poet
Alludes to dangers, trials, struggles
Fine line between innocence and experience
Stanza 4:
“I’d like to say that we could be friends but the truth is we have nothing in common”
“I wont keep you then.”
“scared lanes”
“men in cars after girl-children”
Exploration of the idea that we are made up of multiple identities that are altered and shaped by different events and factors in our life.
Identity is fluid and malleable
Facing reality
Caesura marks the distance between the poet and her child self.
Disconnect between what the speaker wanted to be VS who she is now
Hypallage warns explicitly of the dangers that lie in wait
“lanes” is a metaphor for the journey taken through life
Stanza 5:
“buried in housing”
“I have fears enough for us both”
Represents adult responsibilities such as mortgages, starting a family, economic pressures
Time mentally and materially erodes childhood memories
Emphasis on amount of pressures and anxieties
Stanza 6:
“I leave you in an ecstasy”
“slowly peeling a ripe scab from your knee to taste it on your tongue”
Happiness and pleasure
Childhood memories act as an escape to real life problems
Metaphorical drug to forget current situations however, childhood memories are fading away
Dangers in childhood curiosity
Highlights sensory nature of children learning from mistakes
Exposure of her raw flesh is symbolic of her exposure to the realities of the world
Themes
-Change in time
-Transition from childhood to adulthood
-Freedom and fear
-Fantasy VS reality
-Identity
Structure
Decline into short stanzas - shows sense of finality
No rhyme scheme suggesting real sense of disconnect
Strong structure = regimented and scheduled adult life in comparison to a free child’s life
Agenda
Highlights the complications of life
Explores ideas of childhood with no regrets and nostalgia an adult may have
Importance of cherishing your childhood
Yearning for blissful ignorance again - Show casing struggles adults face
“you”, “me”, “we”, “I”
Pronouns show differentiation between characters
Experiences occur simultaneously for both younger self and adult self
