acknowledgement of the poem television
Answers
Television’ by Roald Dahl is a ninety-three line poem that is contained within one long block of text. Dahl chose to give this poem an aabbccdd pattern of rhyme. The end sounds alternate as he saw fit throughout the text. Some of the end words are more perfectly rhymed than others, and some such as those in lines 17 and 18 are almost identical.
There are many images in this poem that are striking. This makes sense due to the fact that this particular poem is concerned with television and all the terrible and wonderful images a child can see on its screen. If the speaker is to keep the reader’s attention his words must be as powerful and entertaining as what is on TV.
Television by Roald Dahl
Explore Television
1 Summary of Television2 Poetic Devices in Television3 Analysis of Television
Summary of Television
‘Television’ by Roald Dahl describes in outrageous detail the dangers of television and what a parent can do to save their child. Dahl’s speaker uses hyperbolic statements to reflect on the dangers of watching too much TV. They range from a child’s brain-melting to the child’s loss of the desire to understand the world.
The speaker pleads with the parents to do whatever they can to get their kids away from the televisions. He knows the kids will not react well to this change but it will be in their best interest. Eventually, they will have no choice but to turn to the books that should have always covered their walls. Once the change is made they’ll thank their parents and love them more than ever.
You can read the full poem here.
Poetic Devices in Television
One of the more prominent poetic devices used by Dahl is that of anaphora. This is a type of repetition that occurs at the beginning of lines. It can encompass the use of a phrase or just a single word at the start of multiple lines. The lines do not necessarily have to follow one another but are more impactful when they do. A prime example occurs in lines 25-28. Each of these start with “IT” in capitalized letters. The speaker is attempting to grab and hold the reader’s attention by listing off the terrible attributes of television.
These horrifying things a TV can do have been emphasized through the use of hyperbole. The speaker makes a number of claims about the television such as, “HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE,” that is not meant to be taken seriously. These moments are entertaining and humorous, but still, bring across the speaker’s point.
Analysis of Television
Lines 1-8
The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
(…)
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
One of the first things a reader will notice when beginning ‘Television’ is the narrative perspective. The speaker is addressing the reader from the third person, referring to himself and at least one unknown person as “we.
Of everything these people have seen the most “important thing” they’ve learned is that children should not be allowed to be “near your television set.” The speaker does not describe at this point why that is the case, but does state it would be better if everyone stopped buying them. They are “idiotic” and at least from this introductory statement, seem to do nothing but harm. The first negative thing the speaker lists out is their ability to make kids “gape at the screen.” They become entranced by the narrative playing out.