Billy Collins
Analysis
Title: From the title, the reader can infer that the poem will be exploring the mind of a ten year old. The poem is expected to have a juvenile perspective but is contrasted by the maturity of the idea that a child would have thoughts “On Turning Ten” rather than simply enjoying the age.
Paraphrase:
On Turning Ten
The grand scheme of it affects me
Like I’m becoming ill,
far more severe than any abdominal pain
or the migraines caused by reading in poorly lit settings--
like a fever of the soul,
fatigue of the mind,
a scarring sickness of the spirit.
You inform me it is too soon to be nostalgic,
but that is because you cannot recall
the flawless austerity of the first year
and the alluring intricacy initiated by the second.
But I rest on my mattress and recall each number
at four I was an Arabian sorcerer
I would make myself indetectable
by imbibing a cup of milk by a specific procedure
at seven I was a trooper, at nine a ruler
but currently I am usually at the windowpane
observing the fresh midday luster
back then it never descended so imposingly
against the border of my cabin elevated by trees
and my wheeled vehicle never reclined against the outbuilding
the way it leans now
all the excitement gone as I grow older
I think my sorrow begins now
when I begin my journey through the world in my child shoes
I forego my imagination
and mature the way I am expected to
Before, I believed
that I was nothing but light on the inside
if I was broken open, I would radiate.
Today, when life pushes me down and leaves me with scrapes,
there is blood under my skin instead.
Connotations: Through the first person point of view of a young child, Collins sets the background of "On Turning Ten" as a child reminiscing on his past years.
Metaphors are used throughout the entire poem as a form of imagery as well as the contributing to the overall extended metaphor that the poem portrays. The speaker describes the idea of growing up as "a kind of measles of the spirit" in line 5, "a mumps of the psyche" in line 6, and "a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul" in line 7. These hyperbolic metaphors have negative connotations because of their relationship with diseases that cause discomfort, yet are easily preventable by vaccines. This further elaborates on the metaphor of the child's changing mental state from an extremely young age to his current age of ten. The uneasiness in his heart is seemingly treatable, yet it plagues him. It takes away his imagination starting at age four when "[he] was an Arabian wizard," or when "[he] was a soldier at seven [and] a prince at nine." These imaginative metaphors describing what he was at these ages have seemingly magical connotations, the kind that resembles an illusory state where everything is seemingly perfect. These also allow for the contrast of the child's naivete from when he was younger to now, when he realizes that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows. These metaphors help the reader understand that the poem is one extended metaphor for life, showing how the imaginations of young children are cut down into boxes as they age, leaving them with reservoirs of uneasiness and losses of their imaginative capabilities. The use of consonance in the first stanza when the speaker compares his ailment to multiple diseases also brings out the sorrow. The repetitive 's' sounds puts emphasis on the diseases and almost elongates the words in the metaphor, elaborating on the illnesses that the child feels he relates to.
Collins also manipulates sentence structure through asyndeton and parallelism. Both of these devices contribute to the almost haste found in the speaker's words. In lines 5-7, the poem displays asyndeton by describing the child's feelings towards the situation as "a kind of measles of the spirit, a mumps of the psyche, a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul." This combines all the diseases into a large, bigger body that is more fearful to the reader. This also allows the weariness and melancholy of the speaker to set in through the pessimism found in the quick recitation of diseases. Furthermore, parallelism (specifically anaphora) is used to describe his changing persona as the years go by. "At four [he] was an Arabian wizard... At seven [he] was a soldier, at nine a prince" (lines 13, 16). The use parallel syntactic structure leads the reader to perceive the child as growing up too quickly. The constant numbers changing along with his personas gives off a sense of haste, allowing the reader to understand the speaker's nostalgia.
The subjects of maturity and immaturity are also brought about through the speaker's juxtaposing diction. He describes the "late afternoon light" using the word "solemnly." Usually, a child gazing at the sunset would not use the world solemnly to describe it. The reader would normally expect a much simpler word to be used if the poem was written from a child's point of view. This is also present when he describes the age of one as being a "perfect simplicity" in line 10 and being two as a "beautiful complexity" in the following line (line 11). Most people do not expect children at the age of ten to be philosophizing about life as much as the speaker is, and using complex sounds, words, and syntax choices to describe his life so far. The difference in immature subjects and mature diction and thoughts provides a discontinuity within the speaker's background. The speaker is a young child, yet he speaks in a more mature and wise manner than what is to be expected of a child that age. This can lead the audience to think that the speaker is an older adult looking back on his youth, but narrating in the perspective of a ten year old child.
Attitude: The speaker of the poem (a ten year old child) looks back on his former nine years of life. This provides a nostalgic and melancholy tone as he recalls his past birthdays and wishes and how they have changed. The nostalgic tone is enhanced through his use of magical and positive words such as perfect, beautiful, light, and shine. Paired along with the nostalgia, the speaker also portrays melancholy as he manipulates diction to seem resigned and almost mourning of his youth. Words such as solemnly, drained, sadness, bleed, and cut allow this melancholy to shine through. The tone of the poem allows the reader to reflect on his or her own past and life. It shines light onto youthfulness and how the forceful the transition to adulthood forced was: coercing us to leave things behind. Collins uses childlike words to express complex ideas, and this enables him to thoroughly explore the fine boundary between childhood and adulthood. His words are almost childlike, yet they portray sadness and sorrow for the speaker's initial unwillingness to let go of his imagination and childhood as he progresses through the stages of life.
Shifts: There are multiple shifts throughout the poem, beginning with the first that transitions from the concerned tone of the first stanza to the "matter-of-fact" attitude that leads into "but this is because you have forgotten...." This stanza builds a lighthearted and wistful tone that contrasts the first. The poem later shifts to a negative tone that is introduced by "but now I am mostly at a window...," which symbolizes the start of the "draining" of color and imagination from the child's mind. The last shifts are in the last stanza, where the previous idea transitions into the flashback, "it seems only yesterday...," where the final sense of childhood is wiped out by the last two lines, "but now if I fall...," which symbolize its end. Collins uses these shifts to highlight the tumultuous journey that growing up can be.
Theme: In the poem "On Turning Ten," Collins suggests the transition from childhood to adulthood occurs almost too quickly and involves the loss of imagination. By means of the speaker, Collins emphasizes this theme through describing mature and complex thoughts with almost childlike language. This awkward overlapping of character development highlights the hasty transition from childhood to adulthood that is happening sooner each generation. Furthermore, the speaker speaks of erasing the thought of being filled with light on inside and confronting reality, in which he is filled with blood and organs. This poem also portrays the loss of the endless imagination children usually have and the transition into the realistic "adult-like" view of the world. The entire poem is a metaphor for life, isolating a select few young ages to enhance the belief that growing up happens too quickly and strips us bare of our orginally overflowing imaginations.
Title: The first analysis is accurate as the poem did have a more mature and nostalgic tone than one would expect from a child's perspective.
Paraphrase:
On Turning Ten
The grand scheme of it affects me
Like I’m becoming ill,
far more severe than any abdominal pain
or the migraines caused by reading in poorly lit settings--
like a fever of the soul,
fatigue of the mind,
a scarring sickness of the spirit.
You inform me it is too soon to be nostalgic,
but that is because you cannot recall
the flawless austerity of the first year
and the alluring intricacy initiated by the second.
But I rest on my mattress and recall each number
at four I was an Arabian sorcerer
I would make myself indetectable
by imbibing a cup of milk by a specific procedure
at seven I was a trooper, at nine a ruler
but currently I am usually at the windowpane
observing the fresh midday luster
back then it never descended so imposingly
against the border of my cabin elevated by trees
and my wheeled vehicle never reclined against the outbuilding
the way it leans now
all the excitement gone as I grow older
I think my sorrow begins now
when I begin my journey through the world in my child shoes
I forego my imagination
and mature the way I am expected to
Before, I believed
that I was nothing but light on the inside
if I was broken open, I would radiate.
Today, when life pushes me down and leaves me with scrapes,
there is blood under my skin instead.
Connotations: Through the first person point of view of a young child, Collins sets the background of "On Turning Ten" as a child reminiscing on his past years.
Metaphors are used throughout the entire poem as a form of imagery as well as the contributing to the overall extended metaphor that the poem portrays. The speaker describes the idea of growing up as "a kind of measles of the spirit" in line 5, "a mumps of the psyche" in line 6, and "a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul" in line 7. These hyperbolic metaphors have negative connotations because of their relationship with diseases that cause discomfort, yet are easily preventable by vaccines. This further elaborates on the metaphor of the child's changing mental state from an extremely young age to his current age of ten. The uneasiness in his heart is seemingly treatable, yet it plagues him. It takes away his imagination starting at age four when "[he] was an Arabian wizard," or when "[he] was a soldier at seven [and] a prince at nine." These imaginative metaphors describing what he was at these ages have seemingly magical connotations, the kind that resembles an illusory state where everything is seemingly perfect. These also allow for the contrast of the child's naivete from when he was younger to now, when he realizes that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows. These metaphors help the reader understand that the poem is one extended metaphor for life, showing how the imaginations of young children are cut down into boxes as they age, leaving them with reservoirs of uneasiness and losses of their imaginative capabilities. The use of consonance in the first stanza when the speaker compares his ailment to multiple diseases also brings out the sorrow. The repetitive 's' sounds puts emphasis on the diseases and almost elongates the words in the metaphor, elaborating on the illnesses that the child feels he relates to.
Collins also manipulates sentence structure through asyndeton and parallelism. Both of these devices contribute to the almost haste found in the speaker's words. In lines 5-7, the poem displays asyndeton by describing the child's feelings towards the situation as "a kind of measles of the spirit, a mumps of the psyche, a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul." This combines all the diseases into a large, bigger body that is more fearful to the reader. This also allows the weariness and melancholy of the speaker to set in through the pessimism found in the quick recitation of diseases. Furthermore, parallelism (specifically anaphora) is used to describe his changing persona as the years go by. "At four [he] was an Arabian wizard... At seven [he] was a soldier, at nine a prince" (lines 13, 16). The use parallel syntactic structure leads the reader to perceive the child as growing up too quickly. The constant numbers changing along with his personas gives off a sense of haste, allowing the reader to understand the speaker's nostalgia.
The subjects of maturity and immaturity are also brought about through the speaker's juxtaposing diction. He describes the "late afternoon light" using the word "solemnly." Usually, a child gazing at the sunset would not use the world solemnly to describe it. The reader would normally expect a much simpler word to be used if the poem was written from a child's point of view. This is also present when he describes the age of one as being a "perfect simplicity" in line 10 and being two as a "beautiful complexity" in the following line (line 11). Most people do not expect children at the age of ten to be philosophizing about life as much as the speaker is, and using complex sounds, words, and syntax choices to describe his life so far. The difference in immature subjects and mature diction and thoughts provides a discontinuity within the speaker's background. The speaker is a young child, yet he speaks in a more mature and wise manner than what is to be expected of a child that age. This can lead the audience to think that the speaker is an older adult looking back on his youth, but narrating in the perspective of a ten year old child.
Attitude: The speaker of the poem (a ten year old child) looks back on his former nine years of life. This provides a nostalgic and melancholy tone as he recalls his past birthdays and wishes and how they have changed. The nostalgic tone is enhanced through his use of magical and positive words such as perfect, beautiful, light, and shine. Paired along with the nostalgia, the speaker also portrays melancholy as he manipulates diction to seem resigned and almost mourning of his youth. Words such as solemnly, drained, sadness, bleed, and cut allow this melancholy to shine through. The tone of the poem allows the reader to reflect on his or her own past and life. It shines light onto youthfulness and how the forceful the transition to adulthood forced was: coercing us to leave things behind. Collins uses childlike words to express complex ideas, and this enables him to thoroughly explore the fine boundary between childhood and adulthood. His words are almost childlike, yet they portray sadness and sorrow for the speaker's initial unwillingness to let go of his imagination and childhood as he progresses through the stages of life.
Shifts: There are multiple shifts throughout the poem, beginning with the first that transitions from the concerned tone of the first stanza to the "matter-of-fact" attitude that leads into "but this is because you have forgotten...." This stanza builds a lighthearted and wistful tone that contrasts the first. The poem later shifts to a negative tone that is introduced by "but now I am mostly at a window...," which symbolizes the start of the "draining" of color and imagination from the child's mind. The last shifts are in the last stanza, where the previous idea transitions into the flashback, "it seems only yesterday...," where the final sense of childhood is wiped out by the last two lines, "but now if I fall...," which symbolize its end. Collins uses these shifts to highlight the tumultuous journey that growing up can be.
Theme: In the poem "On Turning Ten," Collins suggests the transition from childhood to adulthood occurs almost too quickly and involves the loss of imagination. By means of the speaker, Collins emphasizes this theme through describing mature and complex thoughts with almost childlike language. This awkward overlapping of character development highlights the hasty transition from childhood to adulthood that is happening sooner each generation. Furthermore, the speaker speaks of erasing the thought of being filled with light on inside and confronting reality, in which he is filled with blood and organs. This poem also portrays the loss of the endless imagination children usually have and the transition into the realistic "adult-like" view of the world. The entire poem is a metaphor for life, isolating a select few young ages to enhance the belief that growing up happens too quickly and strips us bare of our orginally overflowing imaginations.
Title: The first analysis is accurate as the poem did have a more mature and nostalgic tone than one would expect from a child's perspective.