Children in Wartime
By Isobel Thrilling
Sirens ripped open
the warm silk of sleep;
we ricocheted to the shelter
moated by streets
that ran with darkness.
People said it was a storm,
but flak
had not the right sound
for rain;
thunder left such huge craters
of silence,
we knew this was no giant
playing bowls.
And later,
when I saw the jaw of glass,
where once had hung
my window spun with stars;
it seemed the sky
lay broken on my floor.
Summary of Children in Wartime
- Popularity of “Children in Wartime”: The poem ‘Children In Wartime’ was written by Isobel Thrilling, a British poet, writer, and activist. This short poetic piece was first published along with her other collection, The Language Creature. The poem is plain and highlights how war plays havoc with the childhood imagination. The unique quality of the poem lies in its three or two syllables verses which correspond with the long verses to complete the main anti-war theme.
- “Children in Wartime” As a Representative of Childhood Impressions of Aerial Bombing: The poem starts with ‘siren’ showing clearly that the poem could be about war or has an anti-war theme. It is, however, from a child’s perspective. The narrator presents the situation when the sirens wake them up from their sleep. The children run toward the shelter in the darkness, where people are whispering that it is a storm. However, they know that it is not a storm because it is not accompanied by the sound of rain that should come after thunder. The children know that it has left craters after the bombing, and they even know they would have to keep their mouths shut after witnessing huge devastation. The child sees that the window from where he used to watch stars at night is broken, and it seems his sky is broken. According to the child, the aerial bombing has broken his imaginative sky.
- Major Themes in “Children in Wartime”: Ravages of war, their impacts on childhood imagination, and anti-war expressions are three major thematic strands of this poem. Although it titularly presents the theme of children in war, the impacts of war on juveniles or adults are similar. It leaves deep impacts or rather craters in the human psyche. However, in the case of children, it seems that it breaks their innocence which they revel in during their childhood. It seems that it not only breaks their windowpanes, but it also breaks their skies in which they see stars at night. Therefore, this shows the anti-war stance of the poet getting clear by the end.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Children in Wartime
literary devices are unique tools used to make literary works meaningful and enhance their impact. The analysis of these devices is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “that ran with darkness” and the sound /a/ in “when I saw the jaw of glass”.
- Alliteration: It is a device that means to use words in quick succession having initial consonants such as the sound of /h/ in “had hung”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sounds of /s/ and /n/ in “my window spun with stars” and the sound of /t/ in “People said it was a storm”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
when I saw the jaw of glass,
where once had hung
my window spun with stars;
it seemed the sky
lay broken on my floor.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Sirens ripped open”, “the warm silk of sleep” and “that ran with darkness.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows sirens compared to a knife, sleep compared to a tent or a sheet, thunder compared to a bomb, and glass compared to a dragon or some other giant.
- Personification: The poem shows the use of personifications such as glass and thunder as having life and emotions of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of sirens, storms, and bowls to show the ravages of war.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Children in the Wartime
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: Although the diction is bedecked with metaphors and personifications, yet it has a dry and harsh tone.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyming pattern. Therefore, it is a free-verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a single stanza, having 19 verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from ‘Children in Wartime’ are relevant to use when teaching the ravages of aerial bombing and its impacts on children.
when I saw the jaw of glass,
where once had hung
my window spun with stars;
it seemed the sky
lay broken on my floor.
