To My Nine-Year-Old Self - Helen Dunmore (Lauren)

From the poems studied so far, To My Nine Year Old Self has been my favourite as it is not as plain as it may seem. After my first reading of the poem it was clear to see that Helen Dunmore is writing a letter to her past self. At first, it seems as though she is reminiscing as she lists things she did as a child which provides a nostalgic atmosphere and also presents the notion that Dunmore is envious of the carefree life a child has. However, once you’ve delved in more depth this is where a differing interpretation comes to the forefront. Dunmore suggests throughout the poem that she has been scarred by adulthood and that something traumatic has occurred in her life that has altered her. This is where the previous interpretation of a nostalgic letter is changed and the letter could actually be a warning to her younger self of what to expect in the future.

 

The imagery in this poem captures your attention. In one stanza Dunmore will be expressing sweet, innocent images that would most commonly be associated with a child such as ice-lollies and sherbet lemons. Yet in the next stanza the atmosphere will completely change and she’ll create dark, ominous images that connote something dismal. In Stanza four, one particular piece of imagery stood out to me, in the fifth line Dunmore states ‘time to hide down scared lanes/from men in cars after girl-children,’. This implies something iniquitous happened to her - depending on your interpretation it could be seen as a sexual assault of some kind. Which supports the concept of the letter being a warning to her younger self and why she views her adult self as scarred and tainted.

 

This poem holds a plethora of interpretations that makes it all the more interesting. The persona has clearly been altered by some event in her life and has chosen to make her past self acknowledge the privilege of not having to bear this burden yet. The nine year olds worries are menial in comparison to her adult self which is what makes the poem that much more complex. The barrage of interpretations allows the poem to be appreciated in more than one way. This is why it is my favourite of the collection we have studied so far.