“The Tantrum” by AE Stallings initially describes a situation wherein a child allegedly suffers the loss of her mother, however the poet does not explicitly state that the mother has suffered a physical death. In this poem, AE Stallings uses the extended metaphor of “the tantrum” to describe the severed relationship between the mother and child, and further builds on the melancholic tone of the poem through the use of diction.
This poem describes a child’s perceived loss of her mother to world, as the child was “only four” (1) and “stuck with grief” (1) while she watched her mother, who was now “a stranger, smiling at the door” (3). The poet uses the words “mermaid hair” (2) to not only create a visual image of what the mother looked like …show more content…
There is a physical separation between the mother and the daughter as the daughter “wept down on the floor” (12) and the mother “wept up in her room” (13). The speaker describes a change in the mother as she now wears “golden rings / That fringed her naked neck” (9,10) in an attempt to please “the world” (11). As the speaker indicates that these “golden rings” are “now in [her] place” (11), it is evident that not only is the mother changing, but also that the child is growing up. The child is no longer able to form “A full eclipse” (13), and through this is no longer able to be bribed with “curses, cake, [and] playthings” (7). The belittling of the sadness that the child feels is clearly evident, not only where she is unsuccessfully bribed with “curses, cake, [and] playthings,” but also as “They told [the child] / That [the mother] could grow [her hair] back, and just as long” (13,14). It is clear that “they” (4,13,15,16) believe that the child is being overly-dramatic (a negative connotation caused by the word “tantrum”) simply because of the haircut, but they fail to realize the child’s melancholy is caused by more than just a change in …show more content…
The speaker describes two ways of showing disappointment as “they frowned, tsk-tsked [the child’s] wilful, cruel despair” (4). Verbs such as “sobbed” (6) “wept” (13) and “mourned” (8) as oppose to just “cried” all enhance the tone of the poem and what the child went through as she “lost” her mother. The word “grief” (1) has an association with loss and death, making the poem even more melancholic regardless of the fact that the poem does not address a physical death of the mother. In last line, the poet indicates that not only does the child suffer because the mother didn’t grow her hair back, but also because “they were wrong” (16). The phrase “And they were wrong” (16) seems forced, as if it were a painful conclusion to a tragic
This poem describes a child’s perceived loss of her mother to world, as the child was “only four” (1) and “stuck with grief” (1) while she watched her mother, who was now “a stranger, smiling at the door” (3). The poet uses the words “mermaid hair” (2) to not only create a visual image of what the mother looked like …show more content…
There is a physical separation between the mother and the daughter as the daughter “wept down on the floor” (12) and the mother “wept up in her room” (13). The speaker describes a change in the mother as she now wears “golden rings / That fringed her naked neck” (9,10) in an attempt to please “the world” (11). As the speaker indicates that these “golden rings” are “now in [her] place” (11), it is evident that not only is the mother changing, but also that the child is growing up. The child is no longer able to form “A full eclipse” (13), and through this is no longer able to be bribed with “curses, cake, [and] playthings” (7). The belittling of the sadness that the child feels is clearly evident, not only where she is unsuccessfully bribed with “curses, cake, [and] playthings,” but also as “They told [the child] / That [the mother] could grow [her hair] back, and just as long” (13,14). It is clear that “they” (4,13,15,16) believe that the child is being overly-dramatic (a negative connotation caused by the word “tantrum”) simply because of the haircut, but they fail to realize the child’s melancholy is caused by more than just a change in …show more content…
The speaker describes two ways of showing disappointment as “they frowned, tsk-tsked [the child’s] wilful, cruel despair” (4). Verbs such as “sobbed” (6) “wept” (13) and “mourned” (8) as oppose to just “cried” all enhance the tone of the poem and what the child went through as she “lost” her mother. The word “grief” (1) has an association with loss and death, making the poem even more melancholic regardless of the fact that the poem does not address a physical death of the mother. In last line, the poet indicates that not only does the child suffer because the mother didn’t grow her hair back, but also because “they were wrong” (16). The phrase “And they were wrong” (16) seems forced, as if it were a painful conclusion to a tragic