Poetry Analysis. Protecting The Innocence Instilled In

Poetry Analysis Protecting the innocence instilled in children has been questioned throughout history. Some might believe it is within their rights to shelter children from the gruesome parts of the world in a loving manner, while others might believe it is their job to prepare children for what scary realities lie ahead. This is a subject argued about by many parents, teachers, and guardians. If one were to shelter their children too much, the child would grow up to misunderstand how to survive in the world. If one was too honest about history’s brutality, the child might grow up thinking in a warrior state of mind, and ignore the very human essence that a mentor would hopefully want to pass on. â€Å"A Barred Owl† and â€Å"The History Teacher†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Richard Wilbur beckons the child to replace fear with curiosity and imagination when he says, â€Å"Asking us if rightly listened to, â€Å"Who cooks for you? And then who cooks for you?â €  (Lines 5-6). And he also explains his theory using the connotative meaning of the word â€Å"domesticate.† He says, â€Å"Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear, can also domesticate a fear† (Lines 7- 8). When you hear the word domesticate or domesticated, one instantly associates the comfort of home or even taming something wild, as in fear. The ending lines of the poem are, â€Å"Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw, borne up to some dark branch eaten and raw† (Lines 11-12) While using rhyming words throughout the entire poem; the conclusion is most heard when reading it out loud. Conceivably symbolizing the basic meaning of the poem, the poet explains that a small child’s fears do not belong in their head; one of the greatest joys of being a child is that the child is protected. A child trusts with every inch of their being. Richard Wilbur’s theory comes out of innocence in itself. He brings up questions in the reader’ s mind such as; why not take advantage of the gullibility if it is for true and good-natured reasons? Every parent or person that cares for a child wants to shield them from worries. In â€Å"A Barred Owl,† a reader sees the delicate and extremely personal responsibility of a child needing their mentor