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” by Isobel Thrilling, a British poet, writer, and activist, is a short poetic piece. The poem first appeared in her collection, The Language Creature. This short but direct poem 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: Isobel Thrilling has opened the poem 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 his situation that when the sirens have ripped open their sleep, they run toward the shelter in the darkness where people are whispering that it is a storm but they know that it is not a storm, as it is not accompanied the sound of rain that should come after a thunder. The children know that it has left craters after the bombing and they know that they would have to keep their mouths shut in amazement at such huge devastation. The child sees that his window pane from where he used to watch stars at night is broken, and it seems that his sky is broken. This 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 titularily presents the theme of children in war, the impacts of war on juveniles or adults are almost 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 in which they revel during their childhood. It seems that it not only breaks their windowpanes, 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, They are used to make writings beautiful and meaningful. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “we ricocheted to the shelter”, /o/ in “had not the right sound” and the sound of /e/ in “thunder left such huge craters.”
- Alliteration: It is a device that means to use words in quick succession having initial consonants such as /h/ sound in “had hung.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ and /w/ in “my window spun with stars”, /s/ and /p/ in “People said it was a storm” and the sound of /w/ and /s/ in “when I saw the jaw of glass.”
- 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.
