Hide and seek Flashcards
(11 cards)
“Call out. Call loud: ‘I’m ready! Come and find me!’”
The use of imperatives (“Call out”, “Call loud”) reflects childlike urgency and excitement.
The short, punchy sentences mimic the breathless energy of a child at play and establish an immediate, engaging tone.
“The floor is cold. They’ll probably be searching the bushes near the swing.”
Sensory detail (“the floor is cold”) makes the hiding spot feel real and physical, grounding us in the boy’s experience.
The calm, reflective tone contrasts with earlier excitement, showing the shift to waiting and anticipation.
“Don’t breathe. Don’t move. Stay dumb. Hide in your blindness.”
A series of imperatives again, but now with tense, fearful commands. “Dumb” and “blindness” suggest loss of senses, raising tension.
Repetition of short phrases creates suspense and mimics a heartbeat-like rhythm, reinforcing the intensity of hiding.
“They’ll never find you in this salty dark, but they’re moving closer, someone stumbles, mutters.”
“Salty dark” is sensory and metaphorical, possibly suggesting tears or the sea — a feeling of isolation.
The sentence blends internal reassurance with external tension, heightening suspense.
“You mustn’t sneeze when they come prowling in.”
“Prowling” evokes the image of predators, heightening fear — turning a game into a life-or-death scenario.
The conditional “You mustn’t…” reinforces the boy’s internal struggle for control, emphasizing vulnerability.
“It seems a long time since they went away.”
Suggests time distortion, a common childhood experience when isolated or anxious.
Structure: This shift signals a turning point, introducing a new emotional tone — from suspense to unease and confusion.
“They have gone and left you.”
Simple and stark. The direct, blunt statement carries an emotional blow — the realization of abandonment.
Structure: The short sentence acts as a dramatic pivot, marking the climax of the poem.
“It seems a long time since they went away. / You must be careful not to give yourself away.”
The repetition of “seems a long time” and the command not to “give yourself away” underline growing anxiety and confusion.
Structure: The enjambment between lines suggests continuous, racing thoughts, showing the child’s growing unease and uncertainty.
dramatic monologue
from the perspective of a child playing hide and seek. This form allows the reader direct access to the child’s thoughts, building intimacy and tension.
Free Verse
The poem does not follow a regular rhyme scheme or meter, reflecting the natural flow of a child’s thoughts — sometimes erratic, sometimes reflective. This lack of structure mirrors the unpredictability of both play and emotional experience.
Enjambment
Lines run into each other with little punctuation (enjambment), creating a breathless, flowing rhythm that mimics the excitement, suspense, and later anxiety of the situation
