The poem FORGIVE MY GUILT is about a little boy who had killed two birds with a gun without knowing the consequences until after he had done it. He saw the birds suffering which made him feel very guilty and he wants forgiveness for what he had done. He thought about what he done for days and wants forgiveness of his sin which was that he killed a living creature.
Themes
CHILHOOD EXPERIENCES- the ‘sin’ happened when he was a little boy .
Guilt- sin, remorse- he felt guilty after he shot the birds. The sin was murder/ animal cruelty.
Nature- the two birds shows the nature in the poem.
DEATH- the birds that died from the boy shooting them.
ANIMAL CRUELTY- there was animal cruelty because of how the boy shot the two birds.
STYLE
ALLUSION- religious aspects-lines 1-2
Simile- ‘two birds on golden legs slim as dream things’- line 6 ‘ran like quicksilver on the golden sand’ – lines 7
CONTRAST- the gun and the flower
Alliteration- Frost Flower (effects of the coldness of the air) Lines 10- Heads High
STRUCTURE
There are five stanzas
STANZA 1
This stanza starts before the little boy had shot the bird but he is preparing to do it. This is also where he did not know what a sin was until he had done it.
STANZA 2
He had shot them and saw the two birds falling out of the sky. He then ran to see the birds that fell in the beach.
STANZA 3
When he saw the birds, he noticed that they were in pain and suffering and that is when the boy felt guilty which made him think about it for days.
STANZA 4
He tried to help them but they were keeping on moving away so he left them. He still hears the cries sometimes and doesn’t think after time passes it would stop.
STANZA 5
The poet is lamenting that these light and beautiful things can no longer fly and feel the pleasure of air rushing past them. He never thought how something life could changes so quickly.
RHYME SCHEME
A, A (done /gun)
B, B