Richard Wilbur's A Barred Owl And The History Teacher

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In the poems, “A Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher” both the authors write about the common wish of adults that their children would stay young and innocent forever. These authors recognize that by preserving innocence, they are also preserving the powerlessness of children. Though the use of tone and rhyme scheme of “The Barred Owl,” Richard Wilbur gives his poem a more childish and innocent tone. For example, “The warping night air having brought the boom… of an owl’s voice into her darkened room,” proves to be an almost humorous tactic to allow readers to understand the irrationality behind the child’s fear of the dark. Through this manner, the lie told by the parents can be better justified in that they are solely comforting and protecting…show more content…
A wakened child seems to be a bad thing as an adult only wants to "send a small child back to sleep at night". This is a metaphor for how adults feel about their children being aware of actual events that take place. A wakened or aware child is a bad thing, but an innocent, asleep child is a good thing. The sleeping child will not be "dreaming of some small thing in a claw/Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw." The adults use "white lies" as ways to control their children's thoughts because it is the only way they can. In this poem the adult also tells the child that the "forest bird" is only saying "Who cooks for you?” using this opportunity to remind the child who is in charge of them. "The History Teacher" presents a similar theme of the adult desire for children to remain innocent and powerless. However, the poem makes it clear that the teacher does not desire this as much as, perhaps, their parents do. The history teacher is more concerned that he must be the one to ruin their innocence. He would rather put this role on the parents or someone else, so he leaves the children in the playground, unknowing of their cruelty towards the weak and the smart. He walks "home past flower beds and white picket fences" proving that he is happy that he is still able to trick his students. On the way home, he thinks of more "white lies" he could tell, to protect them, so that he wouldn't have to be the one to expose them to the real

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