Messy Room
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,q
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,q
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
Analysis
Shel Silverstein's poetry is simple and enjoyable for even young readers, and his work remains wildly loves even after his death. A good example of his humorous writing style is the Messy Room. The poem is made out of simple sentences, with an ironic twist at the end. Silverstein uses very humorous descriptions, especially appealing to Silverstein’s main intended audience—children. This poem can easily be seen as silly and meaningless, and many people only see it as such. If a reader looks past the silly descriptions, he can find the true meaning of the poem.
The poem starts of with the line: “Whosever room this is should be ashamed!” This is a very judge-mental statement; such as children often make very judge-mental statements without realizing how rude this can be. In the next twelve lines of the poem, the speaker continues criticizing the owner of the room. The statements he uses are very accusing, also the speaker uses “his” as if he already has someone in mind. Then he says, “Whosever room this is should be ashamed!” He says this twice: once at the beginning of the poem and again right before the sudden realization. In the last three lines of the poem, the speaker starts accusing others (siblings) of having such a messy room, this is just like children with siblings, they always tend to blame their sibling, even if it is something they might have done. Then he suddenly realizes: “Huh? You say it’s mine? Oh, dear I knew it looked familiar!” At first he criticizes other of having such a messy room, but then he suddenly realizes it is his own. With this part Silverstein points out that even if people think they are perfect, they might not be. Except for entertaining his readers, Silverstein also warns children of jumping to conclusions to blame another and shows his opinion about hypocrisy.
The speaker is the poem is a perfect example of hypocrite: spent his time criticizing others for having such a messy room when he was actually guilty of it. Silverstein wrote “Messy Room” to convey his opinions about hypocrisy, and he did so through the use of descriptions of a messy room that even a child could understand.
Devices
"The Messy Room” is written with a childish and lighthearted humorous tone, just like most of his other poems. The poem is full of imagery, actually 13 lines imagery. The poem ends with an ironic twist: the speaker starts with accusing someone else of being the owner of this messy room, but then ironically and quite expected it turns out to be his room. This is also a reoccurring device in his other poems. The setting is in a typical children’s/dorm room, full of mess and this poem consist out of one stanza. The theme in this poem is how hypercritic us humans can be, and that we might not be as perfect as we think we are. Silverstein uses easy and quite childish language is his poem. He also uses hyperbole, repetition, personification, rhyme, alliteration and metaphor.
Shel Silverstein's poetry is simple and enjoyable for even young readers, and his work remains wildly loves even after his death. A good example of his humorous writing style is the Messy Room. The poem is made out of simple sentences, with an ironic twist at the end. Silverstein uses very humorous descriptions, especially appealing to Silverstein’s main intended audience—children. This poem can easily be seen as silly and meaningless, and many people only see it as such. If a reader looks past the silly descriptions, he can find the true meaning of the poem.
The poem starts of with the line: “Whosever room this is should be ashamed!” This is a very judge-mental statement; such as children often make very judge-mental statements without realizing how rude this can be. In the next twelve lines of the poem, the speaker continues criticizing the owner of the room. The statements he uses are very accusing, also the speaker uses “his” as if he already has someone in mind. Then he says, “Whosever room this is should be ashamed!” He says this twice: once at the beginning of the poem and again right before the sudden realization. In the last three lines of the poem, the speaker starts accusing others (siblings) of having such a messy room, this is just like children with siblings, they always tend to blame their sibling, even if it is something they might have done. Then he suddenly realizes: “Huh? You say it’s mine? Oh, dear I knew it looked familiar!” At first he criticizes other of having such a messy room, but then he suddenly realizes it is his own. With this part Silverstein points out that even if people think they are perfect, they might not be. Except for entertaining his readers, Silverstein also warns children of jumping to conclusions to blame another and shows his opinion about hypocrisy.
The speaker is the poem is a perfect example of hypocrite: spent his time criticizing others for having such a messy room when he was actually guilty of it. Silverstein wrote “Messy Room” to convey his opinions about hypocrisy, and he did so through the use of descriptions of a messy room that even a child could understand.
Devices
"The Messy Room” is written with a childish and lighthearted humorous tone, just like most of his other poems. The poem is full of imagery, actually 13 lines imagery. The poem ends with an ironic twist: the speaker starts with accusing someone else of being the owner of this messy room, but then ironically and quite expected it turns out to be his room. This is also a reoccurring device in his other poems. The setting is in a typical children’s/dorm room, full of mess and this poem consist out of one stanza. The theme in this poem is how hypercritic us humans can be, and that we might not be as perfect as we think we are. Silverstein uses easy and quite childish language is his poem. He also uses hyperbole, repetition, personification, rhyme, alliteration and metaphor.
The Giving Tree
Once there was a tree....
and she loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come
and he would gather her leaves
and make them into crowns
and play king of the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
and swing from her branches
and eat apples.
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired,
he would sleep in her shade.
And the boy loved the tree....
very much.
And the tree was happy.
But time went by.
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then one day the boy came to the tree
and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and
climb up my trunk and swing from my
branches and eat apples and play in my
shade and be happy."
"I am too big to climb and play" said
the boy.
"I want to buy things and have fun.
I want some money?"
"I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I
have no money.
I have only leaves and apples.
Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in
the city. Then you will have money and
you will be happy."
And so the boy climbed up the
tree and gathered her apples
and carried them away.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time....
and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back
and the tree shook with joy
and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk
and swing from my branches and be happy."
"I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy.
"I want a house to keep me warm," he said.
"I want a wife and I want children,
and so I need a house.
Can you give me a house ?"
" I have no house," said the tree.
"The forest is my house,
but you may cut off
my branches and build a
house. Then you will be happy."
And so the boy cut off her branches
and carried them away
to build his house.
And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time.
And when he came back,
the tree was so happy
she could hardly speak.
"Come, Boy," she whispered,
"come and play."
"I am too old and sad to play,"
said the boy.
"I want a boat that will
take me far away from here.
Can you give me a boat?"
"Cut down my trunk
and make a boat," said the tree.
"Then you can sail away...
and be happy."
And so the boy cut down her trunk
and made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy
... but not really.
And after a long time
the boy came back again.
"I am sorry, Boy,"
said the tree," but I have nothing
left to give you -
My apples are gone."
"My teeth are too weak
for apples," said the boy.
"My branches are gone,"
said the tree. " You
cannot swing on them - "
"I am too old to swing
on branches," said the boy.
"My trunk is gone, " said the tree.
"You cannot climb - "
"I am too tired to climb" said the boy.
"I am sorry," sighed the tree.
"I wish that I could give you something....
but I have nothing left.
I am just an old stump.
I am sorry...."
"I don't need very much now," said the boy.
"just a quiet place to sit and rest.
I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree, straightening
herself up as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting
Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy.
Analysis
The Giving is a poem about happiness, sadness, love, giving, and receiving. The tree represents a mom and the boy her son and just like most other moms, she would do anything for her son to be happy. The tree represents an altruistic mother and the boy a selfish son.
The poem shows that an unbalanced relationship won’t make either person happy. At first the giving makes the tree happy and the taking makes the boy happy for a short period of time. But then the tree feels not acknowledged and neglected, which make her sad. When the boy shows up again the tree is very happy and when she can help him by giving she is even happier. But the happiness won’t last for the boy needs more and more to make him happy. In the end the tree has given all and can’t give anymore to make the boy happy. This makes both the boy as the tree unhappy.
The poem learns that either altruism or selfishness is not a good basis for a loving relationship and a happy life. The altruism of the tree seems selfless, but it fulfills the need of the tree to be loved and to feel happy as well, which makes it in a way as selfish as the selfish taking of the boy.
Devices
The tree is a metaphor for perfect altruism; the man is a metaphor for perfect selfishness. The giving tree includes many themes, but in overall it is: when giving and taking are the only moral choices true happiness is an illusion. The giving tree is written with a good understandable language, but not childish. The tone changes, as the time passes; the tone increases in age, as it seems to get more depressing. The setting in...The poem also includes imagery, three stanzas, rhyme, repetition, assonance and alliteration.
Bear In there
There's a polar bear
In our Frigidaire--
He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there--
That polary bear
In our Fridgitydaire.
Analysis
The polar bear could represent a naughty child, you could refer it to a mother and a son. The bear won’t leave, because he likes it’s cold in the fridge and he can eat all the food he wants. He has control of the situation just by being himself and scaring of anyone disturbing him.
Devices
Bear in there includes rhyme, repetition, alliteration, assonance, imagery and hyperbole. The setting is in the kitchen, the poem exists out of one stanza and is written with a playful tone. Silverstein uses humorous and not serious language. He uses this humorous language also as a tool to make the poem rhyme: "polar bear" with "Frigidaire", and then "it's cold in there".
The polar bear could represent a naughty child, you could refer it to a mother and a son. The bear won’t leave, because he likes it’s cold in the fridge and he can eat all the food he wants. He has control of the situation just by being himself and scaring of anyone disturbing him.
Devices
Bear in there includes rhyme, repetition, alliteration, assonance, imagery and hyperbole. The setting is in the kitchen, the poem exists out of one stanza and is written with a playful tone. Silverstein uses humorous and not serious language. He uses this humorous language also as a tool to make the poem rhyme: "polar bear" with "Frigidaire", and then "it's cold in there".