Poetry Exclipication Essay Examples

The explication below is about a poem titled “Rite of passage” by Sharon Olds. The main theme of the poem is about the attitudes that young male children demonstrate when they are young. The poem talks about their behaviors and attitudes s they try to imitate the older men in the society. It is a reflection of the older mature men in the society from a young man’s attitudes and behaviors. The boys are attending the poet’s birthday party as the poem unfolds. They try to look like their mature counterparts. The narrator says, “Short men, men in first grade-“(3). The choice of words from this line in the poem shows that the young boys are trying to act like men. The narrator further portrays this attitude by stating, “Hands in pockets, they stand around-” (5). They put their hands in their pockets as an imitation of what mature men do. The narrator further shows that kids view their ages as being very important as shown in a line from the poem about a kid who says, “How old are you? Six. I’m seven. So?-“(8). The poem also reflects the attitude of competition, violence and harassment that is often demonstrated by older men. The narrator says, “They fold their arms and frown. I could beat you/ up, a seven says to a six-“(12-13). The narrator further says, “My son, freckles like specks of nutmeg on his cheeks/ chest narrow as the balsa keel of a/ model boat, long hands/ cool and thin as the day they guided him/ out of me, speaks up as a host/ for the sake of the group/ We could easily kill a two-year-old/ he says in his clear voice-“(15-23). The narrator portrays the son as being the most mature in the group. The other kids listen to his advice and settle down to celebrate the birthday. The lines also portray extreme male violence when the young boy talks about killing a two year old.