Hide and Seek by Vernon Scannell and Half Past Two by U.A. Fanthorpe

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"Hide and Seek" by Vernon Scannell and "Half Past Two" by U.A. Fanthorpe Task: Compare two poems of the same theme in detail. In this essay I will be looking at two poems, which are similar in theme and discussing their similarities. I will be using the poems "Hide and Seek" by Vernon Scannell and "Half Past Two" by U A Fanthorpe. These poems are similar to each other because their main theme is growing up, as the poems are set in the mind of a child. The first poem called "Hide and Seek" by Vernon Scannell is an unusual poem as it takes a lot of imagination to fully understand the poem. The title of the poem suggests that the story is about a childish game but this is from an adult's point of view as this poem is set in a child's mind and so this simple game is a terrifying experience to the child. The opening to the poem starts with the frantic, short words "Call out. Call loud: 'I am ready! Come and find me!'" This sentence is short and sharp to show the tension and excitement of the hide and seek game, as there are three sentences (although not full sentences) to one line. This technique is used to build tension within the poem as making the sentences short and sharp increases the pace of the poem to make the reader more excited and anxious as to what is going to happen. The poet uses this to build an atmosphere of anxiety at the beginning of the poem so that the poem is rushed straight to an exciting sentence without the build up. This alerts the readers and makes them want to read on. The next sentence uses a lot of alliteration within the sentence. The sentence states "The sacks in the tool shed smell like the seaside". This sentence, when said aloud, gives a lot of sounds which sound lik... ... middle of paper ... ...ader imagine this weird place which the poet is trying to describe and makes the reader imagine that he or she is in this place. In comparison of the two poems, I can clearly say that both poems are very alike. They are both targeted to an older audience so that they can be the modern child as most people of an older age are curious as to what it is like and would like to step in the child's shoes. Both the poems are also told from the child's view so that the reader gets to know more about the child. The poems also both use personification because at such a young age many simple objects can come alive really easily as the modern child has a wide imagination and can, if he or she wants to, make simple things come alive. Therefore, in conclusion, I can say that these poems both have the same theme, which is growing up and coping with growing up.

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