About the Poet:
Robin Mc Maugh Klein (born 1936) is an Australian author of
books for children. She writes Children’s and young adult fiction.
Introduction:
Robin Klein has expressed the views of a little girl, Amanda
who is constantly pointed out by her mother for making mistakes. The mother
considers several things done by her daughter as mistakes because they are not
part of the code of good conduct laid out by the society in which we live.
Summary:
The poem tells about a girl named Amanda and her parent. The
parent nags Amanda for her mistakes. She is first pointed out most probably by
her mother for biting her nails and for not sitting in the right posture.
The mother also feels that Amanda sits drooping, in a very
lazy manner. To this, Amanda imagines herself as a mermaid. She thinks that as
a mermaid, she can live a calm and relaxing life drifting in the beautiful
green sea.
Further, Amanda is nagged for not cleaning her room and
shoes and also for not doing her homework. She then imagines herself to be an
orphan because she is now fed up of being watched by her parents continuously.
She says that she would have enjoyed her freedom then, by making the patterns
of her bare feet on the sand and would live a peaceful life.
Next, Amanda is scolded for eating too many chocolates as they
cause pimples. She is also scolded for not listening to her mother and turning
her face away when her mother is talking to her. So, now Amanda thinks of being
Rapunzel, a character from a fairy tale and wants to live in a tower just like her.
In the tower, she would be alone and would live a peaceful life.
Finally, Amanda is asked to stop being moody. After this time
the poet has not written about any reaction from Amanda’s side. This constant
nagging has made her so dejected that she has even stopped to imagine. She had
used her imagination as a way to escape from the harassment and dominance of
her parents.
Stanza - 1
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
Amanda!
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me—
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
Meanings:
Hunch= bend
Slouching= sitting in a lazy way
Languid= relaxed
Emerald= here, green color
Inhabitant= resident
Drifting= carried slowly by the
water
Blissfully= happily
The poet describes a typical little girl and her parent. Amanda
is a little girl who is always pointed out by her mother for her mistakes.
Amanda imagines her life to be different. The poet says that the mother is
pointing out Amanda for biting nails. Next, she asks her to sit straight without
bending her shoulders. Amanda who has the habit of bending her shoulders and
sitting lazily is being pointed criticized.
When she is being scolded by her mother, Amanda imagines herself to be
in a deep green sea. She imagines herself as a mermaid. She wants to be carried away by the flow of water
and relax.
Literary devices:
Anaphora: Repeated use of a word at the start of two or more
lines (don’t bite… don’t hunch)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (don’t hunch your
shoulders)
Rhyme: aaba ccc (Amanda, Amanda, straight, Amanda, sea, me,
blissfully)
Metaphor: use of word emerald sea for green colour of sea
being similar to the colour of emerald
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Imagery: drifting blissfully
Alliteration: ‘Stop that slouching and sit up straight’ -
‘s’ sound is being repeated at the start of closely placed words.
Allusion: ‘mermaid’ is a well-known imaginary creature.
Stanza 2:
Did you finish your
homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your
room, Amanda?
I thought I told you
to clean your shoes,
Amanda!
(I am an orphan,
roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust
with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden,
the freedom is sweet.)
Meanings:
Orphan: A child whose parents are dead
Hushed: quiet and still place
Here the poet says that Amanda’s mother is inquiring whether
Amanda has done her homework or not? Then she asks whether she has cleaned her
room or not. In addition, Amanda is also reminded to clean her shoes. It is
clear that the mother is constantly asking her questions. Amanda imagines
herself to be an orphan who is roaming in the streets. This means that she
imagines if she would have been without parents she would have walked freely in
the streets. She would have drawn designs on the soft dust with her uncovered
feet very quietly. So, we can see that she thinks opposite to her mother. Her
mother wants her to keep everything neat and clean. But Amanda wants to play in the dust with her bare feet.
Literary devices:
Anaphora: Repeated use of a word at the start of two or more
lines (did you finish….did you tidy)
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme is aada eee (Amanda, Amanda, shoes,
Amanda, street, feet, sweet)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (Thought, told, you, your,
shoes)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Metaphor: silence is golden - silence is said to be glorious
like golden colour
freedom is sweet - freedom is said to be sweet in taste.
Stanza - 3
Don’t eat that
chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne,
Amanda!
Will you please look
at me when I’m speaking to you,
Amanda!
(I am Rapunzel; I have
not a care;
life in a tower is
tranquil and rare;
I’ll certainly never
let down my bright hair!)
Meanings:
Acne: Pimples
Rapunzel: A girl in the fairy tale by Brothers Grimm
Tranquil: calm, quiet
Rare: uncommon
Next, Amanda’s mother is not allowing her to eat chocolates.
She reminds her of pimples that Amanda has to face due to eating chocolates. At
last, she scolds Amanda for not paying attention to what she says. At this
moment Amanda imagines herself to be Rapunzel. Rapunzel was a character from a
fairy tale. Amanda wants to be Rapunzel because she feels that life in the
tower will be peaceful and unusual. She thinks she will be free and live in a
peaceful environment in the tower. She also confirms to herself that she will
never let her hair down to anyone so that nobody could come to her in the
tower.
Literary devices:
Allusion: use of famous fairy tale character Rapunzel
Rhyme: rhyme scheme aafa ggg (Amanda, Amanda, you, Amanda,
care, rare, hair)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘e’ and ‘o’ (Will you please
look at me when I’m speaking to you
Consonance: use of sound ‘r’ (I am Rapunzel; I have not a
care …..Bright hair)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Stanza - 4
Stop that sulking at
once, Amanda!
You’re always so
moody, Amanda!
Anyone would think
that I nagged at you,
Amanda!
Meanings:
sulking: be in a bad mood
moody: unstable
nagged: harass
Her mother now warns Amanda for behaving in a very odd
manner. She asks her to stop being in a bad mood. Moreover, she blames her for
her frequent mood changes. She also scolds Amanda by saying that people may
think that Amanda was constantly harassed by her. The poet hadn't written about Amanda's feelings after this. Perhaps Amanda was too distressed to think of anything.
Literary devices:
Alliteration: ‘Stop that sulking’ - ‘s’ sound is repeated at
the start of closely placed words
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Rhyme scheme: aaha (Amanda, Amanda, you, Amanda)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
