Introduction to PoetryBY Mkhabela Fezile ThulileUniversity of Johannesburg

Poet 1

My Little One- by 1.Tennessee Williams

My Little OneMY LITTLE ONE My little one whose tongue is dumb, whose fingers cannot hold to things, who is so mercilessly young, he leaps upon the instant things, I hold him not. Indeed, who could? He runs into the burning wood. Follow, follow if you can! He will come out grown to a man and not remember whom he kissed, who caught him by the slender wrist and bound him by a tender yoke which, understanding not, he broke.

SUMMARY• In the first stanza, we are introduced to a male

baby. He cannot speak, “whose tongue is dumb.” He cannot do things for himself, “whose fingers cannot hold to things.” He is “mercilessly young” and only cares about the here and now or “the instant things.” In other words, he is innocent and pure and has yet to be told that he is fallible and capable of failure. For the time being, he is perfect in everyway.

SUMMARY CONTINUES • We learn in the second stanza that he is an active,

uncontrollable child “I hold him not. Indeed, who could?” and that he is growing quickly. He is no longer as small and innocent as he was once believed to be. As “He runs into the burning wood.” it is clear that the trouble has begun and that there’s no turning back. The poet can chase after him, but the chances of the child exiting from the woods in his former state are slim to none. He has entered into the world and can’t be saved from all of its evils. Each day, as he goes deeper into the woods/world, he will grow and be shaped into who he is meant to be and “He will come out grown to a man.” Once a child learns to walk (let alone run), the end of innocence begins to draw near.

CONTINUES• The final stanza describes what happens to all of us once we

reach a certain point in our lives. The poet speculates that when the child finally emerges, he will have experienced so much life that he won’t remember the little, important details. He will have enjoyed intimate encounters with people he no longer knows or remembers “and not remember whom he kissed, who caught him by the slender wrist.” He will have let one important person get away due to a mixture of stupidity and fear, “and bound him by a tender yoke which, understanding not, he broke.” We are given the sense that he will be an unfulfilled adult who realized too late it's quality and not quantity that matters most when it comes to finding true love. The energetic, adventurous infant will undoubtedly become a bitter, wistful old man.

CLASS ACTIVITY

1. Analyze the poem “The little One” on your own, for me to see if you understand the poem.