The Panic of Growing Older – Theme, Structure, Diction, Tone/mood

THEME

1. Older age: Older age is the central idea portrayed in the poem as the reader is made to understand how difficult things can become at old age if things are not set straight at the early stage of life.
2. Youth: Stanza two of the poem started the description of human development starting from the days of youth which is characterized by strength and youthful exuberance.
3. Family life as a limitation: The poem also illustrates how family life poses hindering challenges that restrict individuals from attaining what they planned and the goals they set for themselves.
4. The weakness of the old: The poem points out that one has only the strength to achieve things when still at youth. But, the aged is weak and can hardly do anything other than sit and retrogress on the things s/he has done. At this point, the poetic persona asserts that , “… the world now has you”

POETIC DEVICES

1. Allusion: ”Laboratory tests” refers to scientific allusion and the “three score and ten”, thought, described as scientific in the poem, is a biblical allusion to the years God said that man will live on earth.
2. Metaphor: The anxiety and pain one feels as s/he thinks of old age is compared to ‘fluttering winds’
3. Repetition: The word, ‘hope’ is repeated in the poem.
4. Symbolism: ‘legs cribbed’ symbolizes the entanglement of family life. ‘Throb of pain’ symbolizes the shock one feels as s/he bids goodbye to youthfulness having achieved lesser than planned. ‘Copybook’ represents the plans and goals one set to achieve in life.
5. Alliteration: ‘from year to year.’ ‘Y’ alliterates.

STRUCTURE

The poem is a free verse with no regular rhythmic pattern or rhyme. It comprises of five stanzas in which ideas are arranged chronologically in line with the phases of human development

DICTION

The language of the poem is very much simple and straight to the point.

MOOD/TONE

The mood is that of concern and the tone sounds advisory.