Edwin Muir’s “Childhood” is a short poem that still manages to capture the range of emotions which often grip children. It combines the dual realities of how a child will dream of going into adventures while still needing the security of home. This is a critical stage in life. The boy in question, who is unnamed, has fantasies of going away, yet he also relies upon the call of his mother to bring him back to safety. In fact, the poem’s body presents a scene of a wandering, reckless boy until the last line makes it clear that he is a child who requires the care of his parents. In a sense, it is all about the essence of childhood; the child seeks freedom and escape, but he still somehow knows he is not ready.

To begin with, the structure of the poem is perfectly classical. The couplets are completely in an A/B rhyme scheme, and the meter is rhythmic and exact. It is almost like a song. This precise form makes the poem something of a lullaby, which brings together childhood and the realities of the world. Then, the poem is filled with imagery. As the boys wonders about the greater world outside, everything he senses tells him that there are mysteries and chances to explore. This is true of what is not seen: “The evening sound was smooth like sunken glass.” It is difficult to think of a metaphor as striking as this, which fits perfectly into how a child will translate reality into something more powerful.

The poet fully brings us into the mind of a child and the perfect meter and scanning reinforce this. They work to give order to what ultimately has no order; the dreams of a boy. More importantly, the dreams are not actually fantastic. They are ordinary in many ways because the boy has no real idea of what the world is. It is then critical that the poem has a song-song quality. The meter and structure work to make the reader understand that this is both a strange situation and a typical one. The boy is engaging his young mind to explore. He is not mindless or unaware in any sense of the actual realities of the landscapes around him, so the reader gets two impressions at the same time. For this to be successful, then, it is important that the structure not deviate from classical form.

As to meaning, it does not seem that anything is hidden or made to be questioned. The poet does not explain where the boy lives, but that is not important. This is a scene that could occur anywhere. Any child, boy or girl, will have ideas about what lies beyond their world and that is the real point. They dream of being someone who is free of the home and who is free to investigate everything in the world. If there is any hidden meaning at all, it may rely on the the reality of the last line. For all of the poem, the reader only has the sense that the child is desperate to enter into new worlds: “He knew that unseen straits between them lay.

Often he wondered what new shores were there.” Then, and with an unexpected shock, the poet brings everything back into basic reality.: “And from the house his mother called his name.” There is some reason to doubt the reality here because we cannot know if the boy is truly determined to go off on his own or if this is fantasy. The stronger impression, however, is that he needs his home and family because this reflects the poem’s title and theme of childhood. It is natural that a child will dream about what is not in reach. It is also natural that any child will need the safety and security of the parents. Consequently, the poem expresses a situation to which almost any reader may relate. At this age, we want to venture off but we also want to know that home is right there.