English Literature

The title of the poem itself gives the reader a clear indication of what the poem is about; a young boy who was not allowed with certain children, simply because they seemed to be rough (outsiders). The use of the word "kept" shows the boy's anger at his parents because he feels as though his parents are to blame for his situation. He insists that he was held back from being free. Furthermore, we are given a detailed description of the children's appearance, "torn clothes," "thighs showed through rags," and their characters "threw words like stones," "ran in the streets," this is probably why his parents kept him from playing with them. This creates an idea of social classes, the boy being in a higher social class then the other children who wore torn clothes and enjoyed the freedom that the boy was so jealous of. Moreover, the fact that they "threw words like stones," shows that the children have been bullying the boy, possibly because they are also jealous of him because he has parents who care for him and a more luxurious life in general.

"I feared more than tigers," shows the boy's feelings towards the bullies. He was afraid of them because he knew that they were stronger. Moreover, Spender suffered from several disabilities, one of them being a club foot. For this reason, he could not fight back or run away, but simply had to suffer. "Who copied my lisp," shows that the boy was not only being physically abused but also verbally.

In the final stanza, the boy refers to the bullies as "they," and himself and his family as "our," this further proves the difference in social classes and perhaps even the boys entitlement as he says, "Like dogs to bark at our world." In the final two verses, we are given an insight to the boy's attitude towards the bullies, he simply smiled and walked on, "pretending to smile," shows that the boy was actually hurting but tried not to show it. Furthermore, the poet admits that he "longed to forgive them," even though they had caused him so much suffering, he was still ready to befriend them as he was so envious of their lifestyle. The poem however, reaches an anticlimax as the bullies never returned his smile.