Compare the ways ‘Old Man, Old Man’ and ‘Warning’ Deal with the theme of old age Essay

The U.A. Fanthorpe poem, ‘Old Man, Old Man’ and J Joseph’s ‘Warning’, deal with the theme of old age in very contrasting ways. Both deal with similar issues, yet come out with very different views. The first thing we see in both poems is the immediate tone portrayed. ‘Old Man, Old Man’, starts talking of someone who â€Å"lives in a world of small recalcitrant / Things in bottles, with tacky labels†, while ‘Warning’ begins with the colourful image that â€Å"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple / With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me†. Purple and red tend to suggest a vivid and lurid tone, and the immediate contrast between the two sets the character in â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† as being reclusive and isolated, living in his own confined world, while in â€Å"Warning† we see the author looking forward to old age, seeing it a time for enjoyment of life. â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† continues to explain to the reader how old age brings deterioration and isolation to people, talking of how â€Å"small things distress† and having his hands â€Å"shamble among clues†, implying that old age brings more constraint and misery to a person, while we see that in ‘Warning’ the coming of old age will give the author an excuse to break society’s constraints, such as dressing strangely and wasting money on â€Å"brandy and summer gloves†¦and say we’ve no money for butter†. A strong sense of bitterness and melancholy is created in ‘Old Man, Old Man’ as the author describes a regimented, authoritarian past world, which has gradually worsened into a narrow, emotionless one. The man is seen to be upset by small incidents, have a deteriorating sense of humour and vision, and, despite his age, is still attempting to impose order on his world with his â€Å"timetabled cigarette†. The man’s previous interests are belittled by using sarcastic phrases such as â€Å"Lord once of shed, garage and garden†, showing us that this man used to only be able to control his environment, and now he has â€Å"lost the hammer†, he cannot even do this. The traditional view of eccentricity is portrayed in both poems, however, Joseph also adds an element of freedom, showing her rebellion against taste and sobriety. Her excitement is shown in the language with the excessive use of the word â€Å"and† as well as the enjamberment, which stress the enthusiasm she has, and showing her to be breaking free of the rules of language in the same way she will break free from the rules of society. Further rebellion is shown as she talks of running her â€Å"stick along the public railings† and â€Å"learn to spit†. Sprawling sentences such as â€Å"You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat / And eat three pounds of sausages at a go† portray her excitement, as well as anticipation. Use of words such as â€Å"I†, and â€Å"shall† give a sense of force and individuality. Both poems have a similar structure, as they move from past to present in their tense. In â€Å"Old Man, Old Man†, we see a move to the present as Fanthorpe writes â€Å"Now television has no power to arouse – / Your surliness; your wife could replace on the walls / Those picture of disinherited children†. This not only suggests the man has rage pent up inside, but also poses the question as to why the children have been disinherited their father’s love. The description continues as Fanthorpe says â€Å"Now you ramble / In your talk†¦fretting / At how to find your way†. We see here that the man is slipping into a loss of control, and a change of personality. In contrast to this, we see â€Å"Warning† describing a present of constraints while she remains in the â€Å"sobriety of†¦youth†. Joseph describes to us the way in which â€Å"Now we must have clothes that keep us dry / And pay our rent and not swear in the street†. The word â€Å"must† shows a lack of freedom and constraint in present existence. This verse is designed as a contrast to the previous verse, which had concentrated on the promises of old age. A sense of restraint is portrayed as Joseph lists all the constraints she has in her life. While ‘Old Man, Old Man’ had showed a deterioration from a more happy existence to a worthless one, ‘Warning’ tends to show one that has begun with constraint and will end with happiness and freedom. In the final verses of ‘Old Man, Old Man’, we see a turning points, where the daughter (and author) intervenes, showing that he has literally and metaphorically lost his way in the world with the phrase â€Å"Where is Drury Lane?† In the final verse, we see a slight raise of the grim tone, as we can see Fanthorpe prefers her father in this softer, less threatening manner, as the two have become more equal in terms of power. This is shown with the phrase â€Å"I love / Your helplessness† and â€Å"Let me find your hammer. Let me / Walk with you to Drury Lane†. This marks a point in the poem where the theme is now the relationship with the daughter and father rather than just the father. In a similar way, ‘Warning’ changes in it’s theme towards the end, but not for the same tone. We see in the final verse Joseph’s confidence wane slightly, as she says â€Å"Maybe I out to practise a little now†¦So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised / When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple†. This provides a relatively quiet ending, almost an anticlimax, to a colourful, liberated poem, as the tone becomes more restrained and the drive of her dream starts to lose pace. Circularity is also shown as the first and last lines of the poem both talk of wearing purple. In conclusion, both poems take different views in addressing old age, and even though some elements in structure are similar, both contain inherently different views, as â€Å"Old Man, Old Man† is a melancholy remainder of the deterioration the old go through, while â€Å"Warning† shows a more bright outlook, explaining the opportunities and liberation that will follow with the coming of old age. This may be to do with the fact that in â€Å"Old Man, Old Man†, Fanthorpe describes what she has previously seen, while in â€Å"Warning† Joseph is merely hypothesising what life may be like in the future.