Elizabeth Daryush Children of Wealth

Elizabeth Daryush, (1887-1977) the English poetess, was a product of the
sophisticated Victorian and Edwardian England. Daryush has been described as a

pioneer, technical innovator, and a poet of the highest dedication and
seriousness. She went against the traditional concept of writing romantic poems,
by writing about the harsh realities in the world. Critical towards the upper
classes, her themes pertain to the injustices caused to other classes by the elite.
In the late 1930s, the poet came to a realization of what her relatively privileged
birth had committed her to, or excluded her from; the double pane of glass which
that privilege of birth erected between her and the mass of suffering humankind.
The poem reveals Daryush’s concern about the children of this extravagant
lifestyle, who, as the offspring of rich families grow up to be artificial, ignorant of
the perils of the real world, and display a sense of complacency because of over
protection. The poet deploys a sober and didactic tone. It changes from a harsh
accusatory to an imperative one over the course of the poem. The title ‘children
of wealth’ is metonymous, and can be interpreted in two ways. The word ‘wealth’
may qualify the word ‘children’ as an adjective. Moreover, it may also imply that
they were the progeny of their parents, with the word ‘wealth’ substituting for
parents. Title is also an extended metaphor for the privileged discriminating
against the poor. The poem, as a second-person narrative, makes the reader feel
he is being addressed directly and has greater impact. They lack genuine
parental care and protection, and their excessive wealth offers them superficial
protection that is ironically detrimental to them. They are probably guided
mostly by a governess, who continues to perform her duty in a perfunctionary
manner, and not out of love. Though their parents are not close enough to guide
them, they have evolved predetermined solutions. The lack of human ‘touch’ is
thus evident in their life.
The word ‘ warm nursery’ and ‘ cushioned windows’ in the first line is a semantic
field of a cozy environment and luxurious environment. ‘Warm nursery’ - It also
indicates a sense of social divide and that it is evident right from their time of
birth. This notion is deep rooted and though it initiates at birth, as the years go
by, it becomes an intrimsic part of our children’s lives interminably. The poetess
indicates that in this aspect they are guided by the warmth of their nursery, and
not by maternal warmth.
Endowed with all the material comforts of life, these children are cushion-seated
near the window . This window is not any ordinary window; it is also their
window to the world. They watch the volleying snow through the double-paned
glass that is meant to ensure their safety, and through which no touch penetrates
‘untimely’ or unexpectedly, thereby ensuring that they are ‘invisibly guarded’.
“The volleying snow” – is suggestive of the unsympathetic dangers in life that
confront most unguarded individuals. Another image of the cold, chilly and harsh
climate outside is juxtaposed against the warmth and comfort of the room.
The clear window is the invisible guard and doesn’t let the pain from the outside
worls reach and affect the children.‘Guarded’ and ‘no touch’ – creates a semantic
field of protection and security: ‘by the clear double pane through which no
touch untimely penetrates.’ The children don’t know what winter is because they
have never experienced it, only heard about it and seen it outside the confines of
their homes. Similarly, these children have never experienced hardships that
people face in the world.
Therefore these children can never comprehend the true meaning of winter-its
cruel realities. Here winter is a metaphor of the ‘hurdles’ of life an is an
adversary. Her poem explicitly states that these people are unable to feel the
wickedness of winter, which, in this context, most likely symbolizes the
harshness, or “cruel truths” of the real world (line 6). They are only acquainted
with the sound and sight of it, watching it as if it were a visual medium; however,
only experience is the greatest teacher. Winter may also stand for ‘failures’ here.
The poetess seems to assert here that what our failures teach us, our successes
can never can.
The poem adopts an imperative tone in the second stanza, almost commanding
them to act. It orders them to probe elemental wrongs, and start worldly lessons
from scratch. She entreats them to exercise their plump limbs and to tan their
too fair skin with hard work: ‘Waste your too round limbs, tan your skin too
white.’ The poet proabably akins this to her own plight. That their pale skin
would darken when exposed to the harsh sun has a negative connotation, as it
implies that the children of wealth should go out in the open and get exposed to
the world’s veracities, work hard and learn through experience: “go down go out
to elemental wrong.” Daryush encourages parents to allow their children to go
“to [the] elemental wrong” and experience what the real world has to offer
through mistakes (line 9). This experience will give the children the necessary
knowledge to survive in difficult times, and will be the parents best method of
protecting their children.
She points out that over protectiveness is disadvantageous to them, as it disables

them from learning through trial-and-error. Their protection from ‘untimeliness’
also handicaps them as they would be inept at using their presence of mind.
‘Clear double pane’ – their social security, this insinuates how those who belong
to the upper strata’s of society keep themselves shielded and aren’t exposed to
harsh realities that life offers.
Their comfort is like a bubble that may burst (break) at any moment. Ignorance
is synonymous with comfort here, because both do not teach us the ways of the
world; both are divorced from stark experience. The glass mentioned in the
second stanza shows it is not only a barrier but also a dangerous object that is
identified with ignorance as in the line “the glass of comfort, ignorance seems
strong.”
The ‘Citadel’ is a safe building raised on a high platform. This is connotative of

how the children of wealth are metaphorically superior and more secure than
other ordinary folk as they are raised above the rest and are safe where no one
can harm them: ‘your citadel is safe from feeling and from knowledge too”
However, this very night: “You’ll wake to horror’s wrecking fire your home.”
Here the poet warns them of the possibility of a fire starting in their houses
“today and yet perhaps this very night you’ll wake to horrors wrecking fire your
home” …and if something happens they wont be able to protect themselves or
escape, or survive in the outside world because of their ignorance. The only way
out would be the window which won’t give way too easily because it is double
paned. The word ‘yet’ in this line gives an effective warning sound.
Their home is also compared to a ‘wrecking fire’, which indicates that it might
explode. The word ‘home’ in the couplet advocates that the foundation is the
breeding ground for social injustices. In the last line ‘wired’ symbolizes that
these ‘children’ have imbibed all the qualities that risk making this supposed
‘home’ explode and it implies that this is a highly combustible situation.
Poem ends with a very clear warning that if they don’t expose themselves to the
difficulties of this world, they will be vulnerable to the world’s dangers.
The structure of the poem is similar to that of a sonnet, and the volta at the end
of octave has an ominous tone.

Elizabeth Daryush Children of Wealth

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Elizabeth Daryush Children of Wealth

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Elizabeth Daryush Children of Wealth

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Elizabeth Daryush, (1887-1977) the English poetess, was a product of the

sophisticated Victorian and Edwardian England. Daryush has been described as a

She points out that over protectiveness is disadvantageous to them, as it disables

The ‘Citadel’ is a safe building raised on a high platform. This is connotative of

You might also like