myie9

| Device | Example | Effect | |--------|---------|--------| | Personification | “The clockface with the little eyes” | Child interprets the clock as a living creature. | | Neologism / compounding | “timeformykisstime” | Child invents words; time = events, not numbers. | | Repetition | “He knew he’d done Something Very Wrong” | Reinforces shame and ritualised punishment. | | Contrast | Adult “half-past two” vs child’s “time outside time” | Highlights cognitive gap. | | Onomatopoeia / sibilance | “scuttled” (final line) | Suggests nervous, animal-like movement. | | Passive voice | “He was too scared of being wicked” | Child internalises blame; avoids agency. | | Device | Example | Effect | |--------|---------|--------|

If you cannot find a free PDF, the poem is widely available in the anthology "Poems: Deep and Dangerous" (Cambridge University Press) and on the Genius.com lyric platform, which offers a text-based study guide. | | Contrast | Adult “half-past two” vs

I say it's half-past three.

He understands time through routines like "Gettinguptime," "TV time," and "Timeformykisstime" (Gran-time).

Half-past Two Poem | Pdf [repack]

| Device | Example | Effect | |--------|---------|--------| | Personification | “The clockface with the little eyes” | Child interprets the clock as a living creature. | | Neologism / compounding | “timeformykisstime” | Child invents words; time = events, not numbers. | | Repetition | “He knew he’d done Something Very Wrong” | Reinforces shame and ritualised punishment. | | Contrast | Adult “half-past two” vs child’s “time outside time” | Highlights cognitive gap. | | Onomatopoeia / sibilance | “scuttled” (final line) | Suggests nervous, animal-like movement. | | Passive voice | “He was too scared of being wicked” | Child internalises blame; avoids agency. |

If you cannot find a free PDF, the poem is widely available in the anthology "Poems: Deep and Dangerous" (Cambridge University Press) and on the Genius.com lyric platform, which offers a text-based study guide.

I say it's half-past three.

He understands time through routines like "Gettinguptime," "TV time," and "Timeformykisstime" (Gran-time).