HBL 24/5 Poem Analysis Task 1

"Children in the Darkness" by Henry M Bechtold

Difficulty Rating: *

There are children in the darkness

Who have not seen the light

There are children in the darkness

Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be

To this door there is no key

From this life they can not flee

And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle

Could we give them half a chance

Could we teach them how to read

Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them

Their body and their soul

Will their life and blood be poured

Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness

From which there is no flight

Back into the darkness

Into which there shines no light

Task 1:

After doing some research and understanding of the poem, below are some of the conflicts present in the poem:

The poem’s title, “Children in the darkness” suggest a theme that is gloomy and devastating. The word darkness is also symbolises that there’s no more hope for the children, whom live in the darkness, with no rays of light and life.

In the first stanza, it describe children living in the darkness, which like I said, meant that they had no life and hope. They have not seen the light that will give them enlightment. The reason is then explained, stating that they had been taught how to fight, and it gave us the hint that it was during a war.

In the second stanza, the poem actually compared those children in the first stanza, where they were in a period of war and learnt how to fight, to those children that received proper education. The poet did this to show a contrast, from the second stanza, we know that was the kind of treatment they should get instead of the first stanza, where they were taught to fight. The children would not be able to received proper education, which is symbolised by the “Chalk and blackboards”. They had no key to the door, which suggests they do not have the privileged access to education. They could not escape the war, as they are not free. This stanza further explained the pathetic state the children were in, they could not receive education and were stuck in a war, where they learnt how to fight for the war at such a young age.

In the third stanza, it described the poet feelings. The poet felt that children at that age should learnt to read and dance like all other normal children. He question himself, that showed hesitation and uncertainty, to suggest how impossible it is to give the children a chance to be educated.

In the fourth stanza, instead of stating what kind of treatment should the children received, it explained the treatment that the children were receiving. There’s a use of personification when the war “consume them”, which symbolises that the children would suffered and even die because of the war. Their life, blood, body and soul will all be taken away.

To end the poem, the last stanza linked back to the first, stating the darkness the children were facing. There is “no flight”, as the children had no more dreams to fight for and soar for their aims. They had to fight for the war at such a young age, an age where they should receive proper education and not risking their life at such a young life. They could die in the war, and the darkness had shine “no light”, no hopes, no dreams.

Reference: http://keyserzone.blogspot.com/2010/05/poetry-analysis-children-in-darkness.html