Comparing and Contrasting Mudies Peom My Father Began as...

The poem ‘My Father Began as a God’ by Ian Mudie is about how a boy (probably him) changes his views on his father, as he grows older. As a child, he saw his father as a ‘god’ whose laws were ‘immutable’. He was a fearless hero, able to do anything: â€Å"He fearlessly lifted me to heaven by a mere swing to his shoulder†. However, by the time he was an adolescent, his father had become a ‘foolish small old man’. He was no longer superhuman, but a father, just like any other: â€Å"With silly and outmoded views of life and morality†. The cause for this change of perspective was specifically puberty. In consequence, he and his father would have drifted apart, since they would have clashed on many occasions. As he grew even older, he noticed that his†¦show more content†¦The tone of the poem changes as the poem progresses. The poem begins with energetic language like â€Å"full of heroic tales† and â€Å" by a mere swing to his shoulder†. The composer also uses hyperboles like â€Å"My father began as a god† and â€Å"lifted me to heaven†. The use of this positive language indicates to the responder that the composer is longing for those days – he is nostalgic. It also highlights the perspective of a typical child. The language used in the middle of the poem is highly critical of his father: â€Å"A foolish small old man†. This highlights the perspective of a typical teenager and signifies that they have generally conflicting views. The language used in the last section of the poem is more loving and emotional than the rest: â€Å"...revealing virtues such as honesty, generosity, integrity†. This draws attention to a mature adult’s perspective. Ian Mudie uses some other language techniques his poem for a variety of reasons. When moving from the child’s perspective to the adolescent’s, the composer uses repetition for emphasis: â€Å"Strange then how he shrank and shrank†. The word strange is referring to his relatively quick change of perspective. When moving from the teenager’s view to the adult’s, the composer uses the phrase: â€Å"Stranger still†. The composer is expressing how weird it is that his perspective should change again. Again, for the final change of perspective, the composer writes â€Å"strangest of all†. The underlying meaning of this phrase is that he never