Poetry Analysis

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Timothy Winters is a poem about a real, nine-year old boy suffering from poverty in the 1950’s. An English poet named Charles Causley wrote this poem in frustration that the Welfare State was not providing enough support to the underprivileged. To show why he is frustrated, he has written a poem that explores the theme of what it is like to be underprivileged through Timothy Winters perception. This essay explains three examples that are used to communicate the theme and attitude in the poem through the use of the literary techniques; imagery and simile. A simile is used to explain the lack of support from the Welfare State. Imagery is used to describe Timothy’s appearance and the effects of poverty on the condition of where he lives. The theme of Timothy Winters is the life of the underprivileged and Charles Causley’s attitude is frustration.

Charles Causley uses a simile to explain that the Welfare State provides no support for Timothy Winters. Causley includes this simile in his poem to show his frustration towards the Welfare State’s negligence. The first line of Stanza six: “The Welfare Worker lies awake” (Causley, 21) means that the Welfare Worker is too busy worrying for Timothy’s sake that he is unable to sleep. Furthermore, this line hints that the Welfare Worker represents Charles Causley’s worry for Timothy. But despite the fact that the Welfare Worker is aware of Timothy’s condition, he is unable to help as explained with a simile: “But the law’s as tricky as a ten-foot snake”. (Causley, 22) This means that the law restricts the Welfare Worker from giving the help Timothy Winters desperately needs. An assumption can be made that the law is tricky because there are more people like Timothy and that it cannot provide...

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...t like a sewer rat.

Charles Causley’s attitude towards Timothy Winters is frustration. This is because he believes the Welfare State is not providing enough support to the underprivileged. To show his frustration, his poem explores the theme of what it is like to be underprivileged through Timothy Winters perception. A simile in the poem explains that the Welfare state does not support Timothy despite his poverty. Imagery illustrates Timothy’s appearance and how it has been influenced by poverty. It also gives and impression towards Timothy’s poor living conditions. These literary techniques portray the dreadful aspects of what life is like to be underprivileged. Causley uses Timothy as an example to show why he is frustrated towards the Welfare State. The theme of Timothy Winters is the life of the underprivileged and Charles Causley’s attitude is frustration.

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