在《Little Boy Crying》中，一位父亲谈到抚养孩子和管教孩子的种种困难；而在“富足”中，狄克逊描述了她的青年时代，当时她和妹妹们无法承受他们贪婪地偷走母亲身后的东西，最后将之与她现在的繁荣相比。我将探索诗人如何运用意象和语言，声音和音调，以及结构和形式来创造效果并传达他们的经验。
《Little Boy Crying》是基于一个父亲的真实故事，揭示了他曾经如何对待他的儿子。它描绘了悲伤、悔恨和爱的主题。首先，读者同情的男孩，然而，这首诗的进展和父亲的情况是了解的，读者开始同情的对他很好。
“充足”是建立在狄克逊和她的姐妹们的混乱的青春基础上的。探讨了混沌、制约和实现的主题。狄克逊写的是她对过去的回忆，经常提到她母亲对她和她的姐妹们因忽视母亲的限制而产生的混乱的愤怒…锚定下来…不知道这是一种束缚，让我们都远离混乱。“这表明当你老了，你意识到秩序的重要性，开始欣赏你父母的辛勤劳动。
"Little Boy Crying" by Mervyn Morris and "Plenty" by Isobel Dixon both explore the vivid childhood memories and experiences of the poets. In "Little Boy Crying," a father deals with the troubles of raising a and disciplining a child; whereas in "Plenty," Dixon describes her youth when she and her sisters could not afford the things they so greedily stole behind their mother's back; finally comparing it to her prosperous present. I will explore how the poets use imagery and language, voice and tone, and structure and form to create effects and convey their experiences.
"Little Boy Crying" is based on a father's true story revealing the how he once treated his son. It depicts the themes of sadness, remorse, and love. Morris describes his battle with fighting the regret he feels for slapping his son because he loves him so much, "longs to lift you, curb your sadness." This is perhaps to depict the contrast between the two emotions and the danger of what happens when they collide. At first, the reader empathizes with the boy, however, as the poem progresses and the father's situation is understood, the reader begins to empathize for him as well.
"Plenty," is based on Dixon's chaotic youth with her sisters. It explores the themes of chaos, restriction, and realization. Dixon writes about her memories of the past, often referring to her mother's anger over the chaos she and her sisters create by ignoring the mother's restrictions, "her lips... anchored down... not knowing then it was a clasp to keep us all from chaos." This shows that as you get older, you realize the importance of order and begin appreciating your parent's hard labor.
Mervyn Morris' use of powerful language helps the reader relate to the situation described. The title, "Little Boy Crying," already provokes a sad image of what is forthcoming in the poem, creating an instantaneous dramatic effect on the reader. In the first stanza, Morris expresses the changes which his son undertook since the slap, "mouth contorting," "laughter metamorphosed," and "frame so recently relaxed now tight." The word "metamorphosed," exemplifies the rapidity of the change of the boy's facial expression, creating a more powerful image of the emotions the boy is feeling. These changes quickly introduce the reader to the circumstances.
Powerful imagery of water is seen in the phrase "swimming tears, splashing your bare feet," where sibilance and personification of the tears have been used to invoke a more dramatic sense of the boy's misery. The phrase "quick slap stuck," creates a more sped up and violent interpretation of the happenings; and the use of onomatopoeia in "slap," creates a more graphic scene.
Overall in the first stanza of "Little Boy Crying," many sad and angry words are used to create a depressed mood: "Howls," "frame... tight," "frustration," "swimming tears," and "guilt or sorrow." Such powerful phrases are used to invoke a more immediate effect of grief and a relation to the situation by the reader. The reader becomes more compassionate and understanding of the characters.
In the second stanza the father imagines himself in the son's position, alluding to the fairytale "Jack and the Bean stalk," evoking powerful imagery of hatred as well, "The ogre," "grim giant," "colossal cruel," "Chopped clean the tree [the father's] scrambling down." The use of alliteration of "g" in "grim giant" and "c" in "colossal cruel," places emphasis on the phrases to describe the pure hatred the father thinks the boy must feel against him, signifying that he knows he is being mean and understands his decision
