Little Boy Crying - Mervyn MORRIS: Detailed Analysis and Video Annotation 

See the course of the written and video analysis of Little Boy Crying - Mervyn MORRIS www.mrquakerst...
Little Boy Crying
By
Mervyn MORRIS
Introduction:
Mervyn Morris' four-stanza free verse poem, 'Little Boy Crying,' presents with vivid (visual, auditory and tactile) imagery the emotional conflict that a father suffers after disciplining his three-year-old son. The poem opens with the boy crying as he reacts to being 'struck' by his father, his perception of his father, and his unsophisticated revenge plots. It continues with his father's conflicted response to his son's tears and concludes with a one-line stanza about the reason why the boy was slapped. The poem exposes the thoughts of the father and son and also reveals that they hold different ideas about discipline. A vital lesson of the poem is that disciplining a child requires strong will and the acceptance that as a parent, your children may momentarily dislike you and think of you as a monster.