Poetry Response #?

“A Barefoot Boy” by James Whitcomb Riley is a man’s observation of and desire for childhood. The poem is written with a petrarchan rhyme scheme (abba abba cdcdcd) but in a Shakespearean structure where the first twelve lines run together with a common theme (divided into three quatrains), and the volta comes before the final couplet and shifts the focus of the poem from youth to age, and past to present.

The first twelve lines hypothesize, almost day-dreamily, about the little boy’s activities based off his “dusty trousers,” “grimy, bare ankles,” and “stripes of the nettle” on his feet. This youthful reverie illuminates the older man’s wistfulness and the continuous structure of the first twelve lines helps prolong his reflective musings. When the poem shifts in the final couplet, it jolts the narrator back to the present and old age. He compares the young boy’s big toe to “the clasp of an old pocketbook” which subconsciously shows what’s on the elder man’s mind- finances, responsibility, and a longing for the untroubled days of his childhood.

The operative theme of the poem is reflection, which is developed through the structure and content of the poem. The structure groups the elder man’s meditations on and yearnings for childhood together with a common idea and consistent rhyme scheme (for the most part, the last six lines share a scheme, but aren’t cohesive in theme). The content is consistent through the three quatrains- a dreamy desire for childhood, and the couplet- a shock back to present consciousness. The poem overall uses reflection as a tool for escape.