How does Elizabeth Barrett Browning critique society and ask for reform in this poem? Which poetic devices are particularly effective in submitting her message?
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Jared Fogarty
1/8/2015 07:30:34 am
In her poem "The Cry of the Children", Elizabeth Barrett Browning cries out against the industrial style child labor that goes on in many of the major cities of the time. She finds that many people are uncaring when it comes to the children. Many of the weary children working in the mines are viewed as elderly people because they have lost all hope and are on their last stage of life. Browning says that the people need to let children be children so they can enjoy their childhood. She does not want to see a continued lack of faith and hope in children of the city.
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Natalie Carlberg
1/9/2015 01:45:02 am
Elizabeth Barrett Browning also uses metaphors and similes to express to her readers what the children lived through. These devices allow us to realize what the children were going through and how they do not have much knowledge. An example of this is when the poem says "Are your cowslips of the meadows Like our weeds anear the mine" (61-62). This is an example that shows how the children do no know what is outside of their world, they only know what is around them. Browning uses these devices to express how the children were living as well as how under educated they were.
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Remington Schneider
1/9/2015 04:52:27 am
I felt that E.B.B. used anaphora very effectively to get her point across in "The Cry of the Children". Her constant reminder of "the young children" never lets the reader forget who she is talking about. Also she says how the wheels were in constant motion using words like "turning", "spinning", and "droning" showing the nonstop work during this time period. Anyone else find any other constantly repeated words or phrases?
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1/9/2015 06:42:04 am
Yes Remington I also found a lot of anaphora throughout the poem. One thing I noticed was her constant reference to the wheels, which I think may be representing the factory work as a whole. You commented about the "turning," "spinning," and "droning" which were usually in reference to the wheels continuous motion. I took this as a way for her to show how she has lost hope in trying to fix the child labor issues, that like the continuous motion of the wheels the problem will continue until something stops it.
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Alison Von Haden
1/10/2015 12:49:48 am
Elizabeth Barrett Browning critiques society in her poem, “The Cry of the Children” by expressing to society about how awful child labor was during that time. She finds that many of the people at the time were heartless for the children and did not realize what they were forced to do was so awful.
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Hank Larson
1/10/2015 01:34:26 pm
The anaphora that stood out to me that Elizabeth Barrett Browning used throughout "The Cry of the Children" was "oh my brothers." This anaphora was effectively used by E.B.B. to call everyone together and unite them to fix the problem as one. By saying "oh my brothers," she shows that everyone can be held responsible for this tragedy the children are facing. However, more importantly she calls on all the adults of the nation to open their eyes to the horrible situation many children are in. This anaphora emphasizes that in order to see change everyone, all her fellow adults, parents, and business owners need to see the problem in front of them.
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Tyler Ellefson
1/13/2015 05:20:44 am
One device that I thought crucial to the work that no one has touched on yet, is E.B.B's imagery. I believe the contrasting imagery throughout the poem is crucial to the point she is trying to make. Browning describes the children as having “pale and sunken faces” and their looks as “sad to see”, later on describing them with knees that “tremble sorely in the stooping” (Browning 25, 69). With this intense imagery, a solemn image of a sick, worked child was brought to my mind and I feel that others most likely felt the same way.
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Taylor Leach
1/13/2015 01:11:08 pm
Something I noticed in "The Cry of the Children" was having the children speak "we" statements throughout. It was mostly EBB speaking to the public about awareness of child labor, but intertwined are powerful passages of emotions the children have and what they would say as a collective group to the public. This is effective in showing people that the children really are in danger and overworked. If the poem had simply been entirely EBB views people would have not listened and acted because she is speaking on a issue that isn't directly hurting her. However, the intense cry of a hurting child cannot be ignored.
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Pearl Davis
1/18/2015 08:40:24 am
In "The Cry of the Children" Elizabeth Barrett Browning seems to use an especially large amount of imagery and symbolism. She compares the children to "young lambs," "young birds," and "young fawns" as a representation of youth. On the contrary, she compares the elderly to an "old tree," an "old year," and an "old wound" to show their age and lack of freedom in life. She vividly describes the children and their struggles in order to shock the readers of the time into realizing the horrors of child labor. The way she uses these devices makes the reader feel for the children and sympathize with the hardships they face.
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