Explore the memories of childhood Essay

Explore the memories of childhood presented in â€Å"In Mrs Tilscher’s class† by Carol Ann Duffy and â€Å"Childhood† by John Clare The memories of childhood presented in the two poems â€Å"In Mrs Tilscher’s class† by Carol Ann Duffy and â€Å"Childhood† by John Clare are explored in many different ways. One of the ways Duffy explores the memories of childhood is by remembering the happiness of being a child and creating a happy tone. â€Å"Sugar paper. Coloured shapes. Brady and Hindley faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake. † This quotation shows that Duffy explores her memories of childhood to be happy by describing a horrendous crime to have disappeared in Mrs Tilscher’s classroom. â€Å"Uneasy smudge of a mistake† suggests the horrific incidents to have been rubbed away because it is so happy and peaceful when you are in Mrs Tilscher’s class room. Brady and Hindley’s horrifying antics also suggest the dangers of the adult world. It also gives the impression that the classroom is like a different world, a fantasy world where only happiness exists. The way Duffy mentions the sugar paper and the coloured shapes also give a sense of happiness because it makes the reader think of bright colours and activities which are associated with the pleasure of being a child. Likewise, in â€Å"Childhood† Clare also describes the contentment of childhood. â€Å"On the heaths, in the meadows beside the deep lake, and return’d with torn clothes all covered wi’ burrs. † This quotation shows how happy childhood was for Clare. The idea of nature presented in this quotation gives the impression of blissful children exploring the outside world. It gives this impression by mention â€Å"the meadow by the deep lake,† these words are in connotation to nature and outdoor life. A sense of freedom is also created as Clare uses a care free tone to describe where the children would play. â€Å"and return’d with torn clothes all covered wi’ burrs,† this section of the quotation creates a feeling of freedom and cheerfulness as Clare exclaims his clothes were ripped and torn but the care free tone he uses suggests he didn’t care and that he shed no guilt because of this, he was just having fun, which explores the idea of childhood innocence. Even though a happy sense of youth is produced in â€Å"In Mrs Tilscher’s class,† Duffy makes the happiness seem to diminish throughout the poem. â€Å"You asked how you were born, and Mrs Tilscher smiled, and then turned away. † This shows that the innocence of the children is starting to pass away. The fact that Mrs Tilscher smiles and turns away, when â€Å"asked how you were born,† conveys a sense that she does not want to encourage the children to loose their childhood innocence by telling them such mature things. This is a sign of sexual awareness created by Duffy because the topic of sexual nature is starting to be explored at this stage in a child’s life. Duffy also creates a feeling that the children look towards Mrs Tilscher for comfort but they both feel that it is time to move on in the direction of growing up. Duffy does this by making the child try on last attempt to stay in the safeness and secure, safe womb of the primary school. As Mrs Tilscher turns away is signifies the fact that her time is over teaching this particular class. This conveys a sense that joyfulness is slipping away. â€Å"A rough boy told you how you were born. † This quotation shows the â€Å"rough boy† who reveals how you were conceived is another sign of maturity. For children it is like finding out there is no Father Christmas. It gives the impression that life won’t be the same again. The structure of the two poems, is different. In â€Å"Childhood,† Clare has created a regular rhyme scheme to the poem. â€Å"O dear to us ever the scenes of our childhood The green spots we played in the school where we met The heavy old desk where we thought of the wild-wood Where we poured o’er the sums which the master had set. † This is a fraction of the first stanza of the poem which shows the rhyming pattern. It has a sort of â€Å"sing-song† rhythm to it, which is reminiscent of the nursery rhymes sang when a young child. In contrast to this, in â€Å"In Mrs Tilscher’s classroom,† there is no regular rhyme scheme. â€Å"You could travel up the Blue Nile, With your finger, tracing the route While Mrs Tilscher chanted the scenery†¦ † This quotation is also from the first stanza of the poem, and there is no regular rhyme scheme. But as there are four stanzas in this poem, each stanza can be said to represent a different area of development. For example, the first stanza represents escapism. â€Å"You could travel up the Blue Nile with your finger,† this gives the impression that you can physically escape from your troubles and actually travel up the Blue Nile with your imagination. This conveys a sense that Mrs Tilscher’s classroom is a safe and comforting place to be. The final stanza represents moving on and growing up. â€Å"A rough boy told you how you were born. You kicked him, but stared at your parents, appalled when you got home. † This quotation gives the impression that the safety that Mrs Tilscher provided for you, is now slipping away as you are being introduced to bullies, and people who know more about the world than you do. It conveys a sense that the innocence and virtue of being a child has gone because you are growing older and maturing into adolescence. In â€Å"Childhood,† the final stanza creates a sense of closure. â€Å"There’s nought to compare to the days of our childhood. † This quotation suggests that nothing is as good as childhood and it was obviously an exciting part of life for Clare. It also makes the reader feel as if that is the end, there was no moving on to a different stage of life or growing older into a teenager. Clare creates this feeling by saying nothing compares to his childhood giving the impression that his teenage and younger life was not as exciting and stimulating as his childhood days. It is as if Clare wanted childhood to be everlasting. Likewise in â€Å"In Mrs Tilscher’s class,† there is also a sense of closure. â€Å"Reports were handed out. You ran through the gates, impatient to be grown,† This quotation also gives the impression of the ending of being in Mrs Tilscher’s class, as Duffy mentions reports were handed out, this usually happens at the end of an academic year, which makes the reader think of a new teacher and a new class. It also creates a sense of moving on to another year of school. It suggests that there is more to come of life but not as in childhood, in more of an adult nature. A feeling of finishing is also created. In conclusion, the two poems â€Å"In Mrs Tilscher’s class† and â€Å"Childhood† have many similar and different references.