Literary Analysis: Flower Child

Critical Analysis

Julve, Jan Emmy C. Jacobe, John Raphael H. Gumera, Kurt M.

January 2019 Asian College of Technology- Integrated School

The poem expresses the feeling of handling every struggle in life and growing up as time goes by. The act of bravery by opening oneself's wings to begin the journey of a lifetime. Acceptance that there will always be dilemmas, the endless doubting but also to know that these things will go by in our mission, none of these things will make us feel free.

The sonnet is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of fourteen lines and has the rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. The last two are the couplets where the twist of the poem lies.

In the sonnet, Apurado wants her readers to view the speaker as a wise old lady that has genuine care in telling us what our lives are about to be. It may that that old lady has gone through some things that the readers are about to, and what to do when such circumstances occur. To ride on with the journey despite the ups and downs, and to flow through the river of life.

As this poem is about life, the speaker is somewhat lecturing youngsters about what life truly is, curiosity, bravery, troubles and to stand up and spread your wings. What enchants the reader is the way he has written a metaphorical comparison to a bird and human life.

"A night that seem so calm, the scene forlorn, With so much wonder, grows more fonder by time"

Right off the bat, the four lines, the poet discussed a child's curiosity about things, she used the scene of nighttime. Nighttime means there is something out there that our eyes could not perceive but our curiosity is driving us to get there. Also as time goes by, our curiosity with the world is becoming big and bigger. People tend to dive into the unknown to seek things.

A child you'll see, queer and bizarre is born, The right time will come and it's all sublime"

A curiosity was born and a child is full of wonder. Curiosity on how the world works, on how such things do, but these things have their own time. Do not rush into things.

"Just spread your wings and never quail.

Begin your journey, you must do it well,"

Then the curiosity led the reader to open oneself's wings but never cower in fear. The metaphor was used in the first and second lines. People always expect that the things you do, you must not make a single mistake, for you will be wronged your whole life,

You'll stumble in your way and try to fail, But maybe someday you can somehow tell"

A bird courageously opens its wings, fly and begins its journey. However, it never mentioned anything like birds. Nevertheless, the mistakes you've done will never define you. The speaker then said that, "someday you can somehow tell," it implies that all these mistakes, there will be lessons. It's a part of a journey of a lifetime.

There is no such thing as a perfect journey, the paths that we envisioned aren't as always what it seems to be in reality. Birds stumble on twigs and branches, but they always manage to get up to continue with their lives. Through time the birds get stronger.

"But you'll begin to worry and have doubt, Things you may not be the way it was."

The stumbling of twigs then marks as the beginning of doubts. The once courageous bird starts to be frightened and discouraged. Some things change, things are not the way it was. Thus doubts start and the fear of failure arises.

The fright you have, face it but don't shout You'll conquer it and surely it will pass."

Facing these dilemmas are the only thing that's going to help us grow up. Do not run away from these. The speaker then said, as if has gone through the same thing, "You'll conquer it,". The thoughts and fears will surely pass.

Defeat the terror that controls your mind, Set your life free, it'll go by with your kind.

Terror means something in extreme fear, thus these fears will sooner control you if you don't know how to simply control them. If you let no one control you, even these thoughts then you consider yourself free from all.

Readers from a young age will surely be drawn to the sonnet, to those who have gone through a lot in life will certainly agree to what the author has written. The title says Time because, simply, only time can tell.

Reader-Response was used in the sonnet. The sonnet was how the readers perceive it. It may relate to the reader's past or present. The challenges in life. Lines such as, "Just spread your wings and never quail," The author somehow tells the reader what to do, and it is dependent on how the reader reacts to it. It is in second-person point of view, so it's very much likely that the writer is directly addressing the reader.

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