Young

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1962

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Isolating Versus Grouping Together

The speaker describes herself as “a lonely kid” (Line 2), but she is also physically alone, separated from the other humans in her life. She “lay[s] on the lawn at night” (Line 6), watching the house that contains her family. Even her family members are physically separated from each other with her “mother’s window a funnel” (Line 9) and her “father’s window, half shut” (Line 11). Each person has their own place to which they retreat. The reader can only infer the reasons and the frequency of these retreats, though it appears as if the behaviors are standard. The non-human elements, or other species, mentioned in the poem are cloistered, almost like mini families, including the stars, the clover, and “the crickets ticked together” (Line 17). The speaker takes notice of these groups as if to show contrast between their clumping together and her unit, or family, choosing to separate. This self-isolation compels the speaker of the poem to question things philosophically or spiritually, including the visual capabilities of God and the change in her body from childhood to young adulthood.

Transition from Childhood to Adulthood

In “Young,” the speaker mentions being “in [her] brand new body, / which was not a woman’s yet” (Lines 18-19). She is clearly experiencing changes that come with puberty, and part of that includes the awkward stage of adolescence. This period of life is a time of questioning and of uncertainty about positioning in the world. The speaker is starting to feel like an adult but is not capable quite yet of making adult decisions. She might feel physical changes in her body but does not quite yet have the look or shape of the adult women she sees in her life. The speaker does not seem comfortable or able to ask questions of her mother at this time, so she directs them to the stars above her. In this poem, she fixates briefly on her house, as if it is a physical manifestation of her childhood with her parents at each window and the sturdy boards that keep everything intact. In one moment, the speaker imagines the sailing of the leaves on the boards as if the house moving and reshaping could symbolize the changes she is feeling internally: “and probably a million leaves / sailed on their strange stalks” (Lines 15-16).

Searching for Spirituality

Toward the end of the poem, the speaker wonders if “God c[an] really see” (Line 21) what she sees. The speaker does not speak to any human in the poem. She speaks only to the natural elements around her. She calls the stars “wise” (Line 8) and asks them questions. The curiosity that overcomes her this night and the natural world that envelopes her, including the “clover wrinkling over [her]” (Line 7), leave her with a list of concrete and abstract items of note at the end of the poem: “the heat and the painted light, / elbows, knees, dreams, goodnight” (Lines 22-23). It seems that this list encompasses the barrage of thoughts in the speaker’s mind that leave her wanting to know more. Intermingled are thoughts of her changing body, her dreams for the future, the present summer night in which she is experiencing, and the nature surrounding her. With her parents secluded in the house, unavailable to the speaker in this moment, she reaches out to someone she hopes might be available, God, and to something that can visibly represent this higher spirit, the stars, as they are literally above and watching over her. It is hard to tell if the speaker has any religious or spiritual experiences from her upbringing, which she is now questioning, or if she is reaching out in need of some faith in this moment given her loneliness and uncertainty.