Half past two

Compiled by Dilini Boyagoda

Structure and Form

• Free verse
• Third person narration – this gives the reader the ability to view all that is happening
from an outsider’s view.
• Tercets – 3 lines in each stanza – time is rigid, not changing, strict structure, can’t change
time as and when you like. This reflects the adult perspective of time.
• Line lengths – not equal – irregularity – time is flexible for the child, the child’s
confusion with time.
• No set rhyme scheme – this reflects the freedom the child experience in regard to his
understanding of time.
• Run on lines (enjambment) – shows the chaotic movement of time for the child, who
does not understand the concept of time.
• Brackets (parenthesis) – casual tone, informal tone, it also tells us that the mistake was a
minor
1st stanza
• Capitalization of words very wrong – emphasises his mistake, making us understand that
the child feels that his mistake is very great.
• ‘Something’ – contradicts the thought of very wrong, suggests the child’s lack of
knowledge of what he did wrong, even though it was Very Wrong. mistake was probably
a small mistake.
• The incorrect use of capital letters - Conveys childishness
• Parenthesis – casual and dismissive. The speaker’s personal voice here adds to the feeling
that the child’s misdemeanour was really insignificant.
2nd stanza
• Repetition – grabs our attention, and emphasises the fact that the child does not
understand the gravity of his mistake. Teacher is making him feel guilty.
• The repetition of ‘has done something very wrong’ - The sentence here tells us that the
teacher has not done her duty in explaining what the child has done wrong. Therefore
very subtly the speaker blames the teacher for her lack of care for her student.
• She – the capitalization suggest authority, superiority.
• The child’s relationship with the teacher – is not a very close.
• He’d done – childish language,
• Run on lines – (no mark at the end) – adds to seriousness of the situation, and how the
child may feel overwhelmed and without any control of what is happening around him.

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3rd stanza
• Parenthesis – side comment, something that is not essential to the main message.
• Time – new idea to the child, concept of time as something strange and new. The
capitalisation of ‘Time’ makes time stand out in that line. Time becomes almost
personified through the capitalization since here it looks like a proper noun.
• Criticizing the teacher. shows that the teacher has not done her job properly.
• The punishment made him feel scared, because he did not understand the punishment.
• ‘wicked’ – the child feels completely overwhelmed, he has no idea what he has done, but
thinks it is something wicked, and therefore he feels that he is a wicked child.

4th stanza
• Time not capitalized – to show his concept of time, and how he is confident about his
ideas about time.
• Compound words – this shows that the child is not aware of the adult/abstract concept of
time. His idea of time is related to his events of his life.
• Experiences based on routine – this is how the child understands time. He does not
understand the abstract concept of time that he cannot experience.
• Neologism (new words created) = suggest a sense of confidence in the child , confidence
of knowing the time according his routines.
5th stanza
• Use of comma (no conjunction) shows his confidence in understanding time.
• ‘Timeformykisstime’- loving family, suggests a very young child.
• Insecurity of not understanding the adult concept of time. This creates pity for the child
who is lost in the adult/teacher’s concept of time.
6th stanza
• ‘Clockface’- Highlights his childish innocence. He recognises the clock face, but is not
able to understand how to read the time. His idea of time is very basic and innocent.
• Adds humour the fact that he tries to understand time by personification of time.
• Personification of the clock – makes the reader think that for the child the clock was
something alive, something that is can move and see.
• Alliteration – draws attention to the frustration of the child in not being able to
understand this new concept of time.
7th stanza
• ‘Beyond onceupona’ – fairy story, this suggests that for the little boy this wating time
was a long time. Like the once upon he hears in stories. It also shows, because he does
not understand the adult concept of time, he is able to escape into a world of his own.
• He is not ruled/governed/bossed by time.

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 • ‘For ever’ – maintaining the fairy story like quality in the poem. It also suggests that the
child would rather escape this unknown fearful concept of ‘time’
8th stanza
• Her – figure of authority, some distant figure.
• Into ever – not standard English reminds us of the childishness of the child.
• Ever – timeless future, no limitation.
• Chrysanthemums – flowers
• Oxymoron ‘silent noise’ - conveys how much he is able to concentrate on his finger at
that moment (and get lost in his thoughts about his finger)
• Anaphora – repetition of the phrase – ‘into the’ how the child is able to live in the
moment, how he is able to focus his attention to his surrounding and not be distracted by
thoughts of time and punishment.
• ‘Into ever’ – nonstandard English – timeless world. non standard time frame -

9th stanza
• Italicised – to convey the words of the teacher.
• she – the teacher has not been able to conquer the child, could not punish the child. The
child used the time given time for detention was used as a time to escape the clutches of
normal/standard time.
• Scuttling in – ( rats, mouse ) – teacher comes in the room not in a confidant. Guilty of
what she had done.
• Irresponsible teacher – she got caught up in her work. This also suggests how
insignificant his misconduct may have been for her to have forgotten about him so fast.
• ‘Late’ – related to time – brings him back into the world of time.
10th stanza
• Back into his concept of time – experiences.
• The sibilance of the first line makes the line slip by fast. This suggests how smoothly the
teacher puts the child back into the reality of adult time and world.
• The fact that he goes back to compound words shows that he still has not learnt the
concept of actual time.
10th stanza
• ‘Never’ – the impact on him. Because he did not know time he had gone through a fearful
experience. This had a long-lasting effect on him.
• ‘Clockless’ – the concept of time holds something fearful about it. he was threatened by it
by the words of the teacher. Yet he was able to escape and dwell in a ‘clockless’ place
until the teacher brought him back. This suggest the childish innocence, how children are

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 not burdened with the same ideas as adults. He was able to ‘escape’ the fearful though of
two thirty.
• Last line – connotes that time cannot be completely escaped. Even though the child was
able to get away from time for a while, it ‘hides’ and waits on him, without making a
noise (tickles) and pounces back on him. This is why we feel that he never forgot this
incident. Even though he was able to out beat time, he still had to face a reality of being
‘late’ and being ‘slotted back’ into the world of time.

Note – the use of neologism in the poem makes it interesting it helps to reader to understand that
the boy’s concept of time is relating it to event s of his life.
Questions – Explore how childhood is presented in this poem and in any other poem of your
choice?