Explication of 'The Child Who Walks Backwards'

This essay provides a line-by-line explication of the poem 'The Child Who Walks Backwards' by Lorna Crozier, exploring the use of literary devices and the theme of child abuse.

Running Head: EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
The poem “The Child Who Walks Backwards” is written by the famous Canadian
Poet Lorna Crozier, who is the head chair of the writing department at University of Victoria.
Crozier has always chosen human relationships, language, the natural world as the central
theme of her poems. Many of her works are inspired by the stories of her real life. Crozier is
well known for the use of witty metaphors, graphical imagery in her poems. The title “The
Child Who Walks Backwards” is suggestive of the poet’s witty writing style. The poem
intends to tell a story about a child who is a victim of domestic violence. The story has been
beautifully versed using poignant similes, metaphors, imagery, onomatopoeia, as well as
personification lifeless objects. The purpose of the essay is to provide a line-by-line
explication of the poem “The Child Who Walks Backwards” and identify the prudent use of
the literary images and employment of ornamentation, which has made the poem engaging as
well as humorous.
The title “The Child Who Walks Backwards” is apt, significant and capable of
representing the central theme of the poem. In reality, a person walks backward if he or she is
afraid of something. Hence the readers can easily comprehend that the words, -‘Walks
Backwards’, in the title, refers to an intimidated child. The title is indicative of the intolerable
pain of a frightened child. Every line of the poem unfolds one new truth about the encounter
of a child with the tormenting situations created by his cruel mother.
In the first stanza, of the poem the poet creates an ambience of suspicion with the
phrase “My next-door neighbor tells me” (Mspendergast.weebly.com). Also, the phrase
suggests that the poet is telling the story of a child from the perspective of his mother. The
savor of the suspense continued all through the poem. In the phrase - “Cupboard corners and
doorknobs have pounded their shapes into his face” (Mspendergast.weebly.com). The
personification of the cupboard and doorknobs represents the poet’s wit to create imagery.
This is again suggestive of the usage of doorknobs and cupboard by a cruel mother to harm

2EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
her child. The mother defines the incidences of injuries with the excuse that her child walks
backward into the things. Again, phrases like “bothered by dreams” and “Steal through the
halls” helps the reader to draw an image of a child awaken by a bad dream and driven by
terror. Poignant similes like “…Plummet like a wounded bird” “down the flight of stairs”
(Mspendergast.weebly.com) make the reader visualize the story of the child’s sufferings.
These phrases add to the ornamentation of the poem too and also suggestive of the mother’s
ignorance to the child.
In the second stanza, poet uses literary devices to make the description vivid and
engrossing. She versifies lines, which has onomatopoeia as well as metaphor in them. The
line “This child who climbed my maple with the sureness of a cat”
(Mspendergast.weebly.com) is not only an example of such a commendable literary work but
also does justice to the central idea of the poem. The phrase “..cracks his skull on the bedpost,
smacks his cheeks on the floor” (Mspendergast.weebly.com), shock the readers and evoke a
feeling of doubt. The poet tries to enhance the suspense by adding a tone of interrogation in
the phrases like “When I ask about the burns on the back of his knee..”
(Mspendergast.weebly.com). The poet showcases how the lame and unrealistic excuses by
the mother “he walks backward into the fireplace grates”, “..sits and stares at flames while
sparks burn start in his skin” (Mspendergast.weebly.com) lead to the ultimate realisation of
the readers that the woman is a liar. She is merciless and abuses her child. The mother, in her
attempt to hide her brutal torture to the child put the blame on the restlessness of her child,
which is a common feature of all the kids. This is evident of the stupidity as well as
relentlessness of the mother. The poet has depicted the character of such a cruel mother with
humorous images. This is capable of teaching a lesson to the people indulged in such a crime
called “child abuse.

3EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
In the third stanza, the poet again attempts to depict the appearance so the readers are
able to watch the poor condition of the child in their vision. In order to make them realise the
severity of the child’s injury poet uses line like “Other children write their names on the casts
that hold his small bones” (Mspendergast.weebly.com). The last stanza contains repetition of
the lines-“his mother tells me he runs into things, walks backwards,” emphasizes the
mother’s futile attempts to conceal the relentless crime of child abusing. The poem ends with
the line “breaks his leg while she lies sleeping” (Mspendergast.weebly.com) which contains
an implied meaning. With the aim to conceal all her offences, the mother tries to accuse the
child, all the time, for all the injuries and unknowingly shows her stupidity, misconduct,
nonchalance, and merciless behaviour to her child.
Hence, in the conclusion, it can be said that, the poem “The Child Who Walks
Backwards” can be considered as a reflection of the poet’s childhood. Crozier grew up in
acute poverty with the company of her father who was an alcoholic. Naturally, she had to
face circumstances in which she was tormented. Her dreadful childhood casted a deep impact
upon her writing and induced her to become an excellent poet. In this poem, the poet has
protested against the sensitive issue of child abuse all through the poem. The poet has
beautifully depicted the significant images related to the excruciating pain that a child has to
bear because of her abusive mother who gain tries to envelop her offence under the veil of
unrealistic as well as logic less excuses. Such logic-less pleas are packaged with literary
ornaments and images, which shows the evidence of the Crozier’s poetical skills. Such a
poignant literary work is capable of evoking the inner voice of the reader to fight against the
merciless crime of child abusing.

4EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
References
Mspendergast.weebly.com. Mspendergast.Weebly.Com, 2019,
http://mspendergast.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/1/6/17164236/the_child_who_walks_backwards
.pdf.

5EXPLICATION OF “THE CHILD WHO WALKS BACKWARDS”
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