toys by coventry patmore
English Literature Assignment 1 The Toys By Coventry Patmore 1 The father in Patmore’s poem, The Toys, punished his son for repeatedly defying him. ... Patmore’s use of words to illustrate the sleeping boy, “With darkened eyelids, and their lashes yet from his late sobbing wet” (lines 10 & 11), portrays a vivid image of the boy’s wet, red-rimmed eyes and tearstained face from crying himself to sleep. 3 Patmore has used the words “ranged” and “careful” (line 20) when referring to the boy’s method of displaying his toys, clearly indicating to the reader that he has positioned them in order of importance to himself; “A box of counters” (line 16) listed first, “two French copper coins” lastly. ... The boy’s toys (although, despite the title, the only actual toys are “the box of counters”) transport him to another time and place, where everything and everybody are safe and happy, and life is uncomplicated; his own imaginary world. 4 The father connects with God via them both being creators and taking delight in their creations, as depicted “what toys we made our joys” (line 25). ... Patmore evokes feelings of such compassion and heartfelt empathy towards both father and son, as the reader receives a strong visual image of the father “kissing away” (line 13) his son’s pain and distress, in a bid of taking it unto himself; knowing he has added to the boy’s already tormented state of mind.