My Parents by Stephen Spender is a poem based on bullying and the desire to make friends.

Spender describes bullies and the

feeling of being bullied throughout the poem. He elaborates on his feelings using the poetic devices of Enjambment, Imagery, and
Similes. My Parents is in the first person and in an ambiguous point of view. However, we can assume that Spender was mentioning
his own direct feeling’s in this poem, so it was in his own point of view. Interestingly enough, Spender has entitled his poem ‘My
Parents’ despite the fact that the entire poem centers around bullying. The only thing Spender mentions about his parents is that
they kept him away from these sinister boys who used to tease him. The fact that Spender named the poem My Parents shows that
he has a great appreciation for how they protected him, or perhaps it shows that he blames his parents for being the children’s
target, for they did not allow him to befriend them.

My Parents Analysis
The first line out of the 12 lines of the poem explains that Spender was kept away from children who were considered
rough by none other than his parents. The fact that Spender states that his parents ‘kept’ him from the other boys
shows us that he felt like he was being forced to stay away from him. The word ‘kept’ also shows his weakness, that
he was unable to protest against his parent’s will. This line carries an air of negativity, showing us that Spender most
likely entitled his poem My Parents as a way of blaming them for his years of being bullied. There is no further
elaboration of this and Spender quickly jumps to describing the rough boys who his parents kept him away from.
Spender uses imagery to describe these boys as ragged in appearance, with torn clothes and their skin being exposed
through rags. This pathetic appearance could be Spender’s way of describing poverty. The boys whom his parents
wished him to stay away from where those that were of a much lower class than himself. Spender uses a simile to
relate their words to stones. The boys would throw words like stones means that they were not careful of their language,
and when they spoke, their words were harsh enough to hurt. Once again, a lack of etiquette in speaking is a defining
characteristic of the lower class so it becomes obvious that the boys whom Spender was told to stay away from, were
those of a lower class.
Spender goes on to describe the boys in an almost exaggerated fashion. He stresses how they were constantly outside
doing things he was never allowed to do, such as climbing cliffs and bathing in the streams. It appears that he was
even envious of their style of living. Spender uses continuous Enjambment to allow his thoughts to flow together and
create unity between the sentences. Naturally, being of a lower class meant the boys had to do more labor, therefore,
they had muscles which he could not even dream of having. Spender states that he feared their knees on his arms
which shows that perhaps he had fallen into a scrap with them before, or he had seen them fighting in such a manner
with each other. Not only did Spender fear their physical strength, but he also feared their words, mocking him and
pointing at him. The fact that Spender states he feared their pointing shows his insecurity of being left out. Spender
has so much fear of the boys because he had such a different lifestyle compared to them and though he was of a higher
socioeconomic status he somewhat desired this lifestyle and that is what made him feel bad about not fitting in with
them. He describes them as fit and springing up from behind bushes. This shows us that Spender found their behavior
surprising and shocking once again because he lived such a different lifestyle than they did. Spender uses Imagery to
show the boys were like some form of predator. Springing from behind hedges to harass him for being different than
they were. Throughout the poem, Spender is describing the boys as ‘they’ and ‘their’ showing that he truly sees them
as far and distant being who he never can truly befriend.
Spender uses a Simile again to compare the boys to dogs, barking at his world and throwing mud. It is interesting that
he compared the boys to dogs, for dogs can both be an enemy or close friend. Throwing mud could symbolize that the
boy’s words had no real meaning to them but they were simply echoes of their envy towards him. Spender makes the
socioeconomic class distinction more apparent by stating that he had a different world than what they had. The boys
were not hating on Spender himself, but rather, they were hating the class distinctions and were more than likely
envious of Spender’s privileged life. Spender concludes by stating that he would have loved to befriend the boys had
they even shown the slightest bit of interest. Towards the end of the poem, it becomes clear that Spender entitled the
poem ‘My Parents’ because it is due to being their child that he was given a more privileged life then these boys. He
was following the orders of his parents and at the same time fulfilling the social requirement enforced on him due to
his lineage by staying away from and even fearing the impoverished boys. Some irony can also be seen in the poem
as Spender should be happy that he is so much more privileged than them, but instead of enjoying his lifestyle he fees
envious and seems to wish that he could enjoy their strength and freedom. There even seems to be a hint of awe in the
description that Spender gives of the boys, lithe like predators, string and capable.
My Parents by Stephen Spender is a brief poem discussing how the presence of varying socioeconomic classes in
society creates strong societal barriers. Spender discusses how bullying occurs out of envy of one another and may
not just be one-sided in which the poor envy the rich. but the rich can envy the poor as well.that being born into a
particular family meant that you could only before certain groups of people. Spender uses Enjambment, Imagery, and
Similes to describe the feelings experienced when an interaction occurs between people from different socioeconomic
groups.
About Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender was a renowned poet and Writer whose works emphasize the harsh distinction between different classes in society.
Most of his works focus on questioning and revealing the truth behind social disparity, such as My Parents. He has authored
multiple novels, his last novel was entitled ‘The Temple.’ he has also authored a large number of poetry collections and essays.with
his most recent collection entitled Dolphins and The Generous Days.The interesting thing about Spender was that he said himself
that he had never even once passed an exam paper, he left his studies but was inspired to write by the famous poet and his close
friend W.H.Auden.
Analysis
Spender could be using the poem as either a criticism or praise for his parents who protected him against the children in his neighbourhood who
made fun of his disabilities. He seems to be ambivalent about the whole issue as his attitudes towards the rough street children change as the
poem progresses. Indeed, the poem touches upon the social divide between the middle class and the lower class, maintaining its universal
relevance till this day.

Stanza 1
My parents kept me from children who were rough
Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes
Their thighs shone through rags. They ran in the street
And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.

The first stanza begins with the emphasis that Spender’s parents restricted his movements and ‘kept’ him away from children his age, fearing that
they’ll mock him due to his disabilities. Their protective nature was justified as the children were ‘rough’ both in appearance and attitude. Indeed,
the usage of the word ‘kept’ instead of prevent suggests a naive world view similar to that of a child’s, which probably hints at the fact the poet
resented their decision in the early stages of his childhood. The rough street children are not well-off economically as they ‘wore torn clothes’
whilst their ‘thighs shone through rags’. Yet they were uninhibited as they were free to run in the street and dress as they wished. They ‘climbed
cliffs and stripped by the country streams’, carrying out activities that the poet was never able to do due to his overprotective parents. Throughout
this stanza we notice that the poet is wistful and longs for the freedom the rough street children enjoyed.

Stanza 2
I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron
Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms
I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys
Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.

The poet feared the brute strength of the boys who had ‘muscles like iron’. They were physically fit compared to the poet thus they took
advantage of the situation by bullying the poet physically. ‘Their knees tight on my arms’ makes it painfully clear that the rough street children
picked on the poet because he was different, consoling themselves that they were somehow superior.

The poet also feared the constant teasing (verbal abuse) by the other boys. Their ‘salt coarse pointing’ is a clear indication of their rejection. They
also made fun of the poet’s speech impediment (lisp) behind his back.

Stanza 3
They were lithe, they sprang out behind hedges
Like dogs to bark at my world. They threw mud
While I looked the other way, pretending to smile
I longed to forgive them but they never smiled.

The poet further illustrates his envy for the rough street children. Indeed, they were ‘lithe’, which he could never become due to his impediments
and the fact that his parents’ protective nature prevented him from partaking in any of their activities. However, the poet seems to be in a state of
two minds as he identifies with his parents by degrading the rough children as ‘dogs to bark at our world’. This highlights the inevitable gap
between individuals of different social classes. The constant usage of ‘they’ and ‘them’ throughout the poem emphasises the fact that the poet
viewed himself as being different from the rough street children. The last two lines has much pathos as the poet tries to smile and had the desire
to forgive them for the manner in which they had treated him, but they never gave him a chance.

We can visualise the persona via the stark contrast between the poet and the rough street children. Active verbs are assigned to the children such
as ‘lithe’ and ‘muscles like iron’ while passive verbs are assigned to himself (‘feared’, ‘longed’, ‘pretending’)

Literary Devices

Zoomorphism

Like dogs to bark at my world

The rough street children are likened to dogs in their behaviour, emphasising their animal-like behaviour in comparison to the poet’s own.

Simile

muscles like iron

Emphasises the great strength of the rough street children.

 threw words like stones

The hard, monosyllabic consonant sounds reflect the harshness of the words, as if they were stones.

Contrast

The verbs applied to the lower class children are full of action (‘threw’, ‘ran’, ‘climbed’, ‘tripped’, ‘sprang’) while the narrator’s verbs are passive
an weak (‘feared’, ‘longed’ and ‘pretending’)

This shows the stark difference between the narrator and the rough street children.

Structure
The poem is divided into three stanzas with no regular rhyme scheme, thus emphasising the harsh treatment the poet endured during his
childhood.etting

The poem is set mainly in the country, where different social classes, particularly the middle class and the lower class, mingle and interact with
one another. Most of the incidents in the poem occur along roads or during the poet’s journey to school.

The poem describes the poet’s relationship with two main groups:

 His parents who kept him from the rough street children
 The street children he was ambivalent about, being envious of them in the beginning of the poem, to fearing them in the second stanza, to disgust at the end of the
poem
A struggle within the poet on the merits of the rough street children and his inferiority (physically) to them.

Themes
Social Inequality (Social segregation/Class differences/Isolation)
The social class in which children grow up in has a direct impact on the way they are brought up. As a result, the poet was obliged to dress and
behave in a respectable manner to live up to the expectations of the middle class. Although he was better off then the rough street children, he felt
inhibited by the restraints of the middle class. His parents had kept him from interacting with children of a lower social economic background,
although he longed to do so. As a result, he was socially segregated from a young age, which resulted in his adverse views towards the rough
street children towards the end of the poem.

Parental influence
The poet’s parents were protective of the poet as they felt that he would be mocked by others due to his disabilities. They had probably hoped that
by protecting him from the harshness of the outside world, he could lead a normal life. Yet, the poet grew up in isolation from the rest of the
children his age.

Similarly, the rough street children were less refined than the poet as they lived in abject poverty. Their parents were probably working hard to
place food on the table to the extent that their upbringing had been neglected