Julia Copus’s An Easy Passage and Helen Dunmore’s To My Nine-Year-Old Self both explore

themes of identity, self-perception, and the passage of time, yet they do so from distinct
emotional and narrative perspectives. While Copus reflects on a moment of transition and self-
discovery experienced by a young girl, Dunmore looks back at her childhood innocence,
meditating on the relationship between past and present selves. Both poems use reflective,
personal voices, but the tone, structure, and imagery in each work reveal different emotional
responses to growing up and changing identities.

Voice and Perspective

In An Easy Passage, Copus adopts a third-person narrative perspective that follows a teenage
girl as she passes through a gate to the other side of her life. The speaker maintains a
contemplative tone, observing the girl’s actions as she navigates the threshold of adolescence.
The choice of third-person narration invites the reader to both observe the girl's moment of
transition and interpret her actions in a broader, more universal sense. The perspective is external
but laden with symbolic weight, as the girl’s physical passage through the gate mirrors the
emotional and psychological passage from childhood to adulthood.

In contrast, To My Nine-Year-Old Self uses a direct first-person address, where the speaker
(Helen Dunmore herself) engages in a dialogue with her younger self. The speaker’s voice is
nostalgic, and she expresses a deep sense of longing for the lost innocence of childhood. The
direct address to the younger self creates an intimate and personal tone, as the speaker both
reassures and warns her younger counterpart about the realities of life ahead. Dunmore’s voice
is reflective and emotional, as she grapples with the passage of time and the distance between her
childhood self and the person she has become.

Language and Imagery

In An Easy Passage, Copus uses vivid imagery to depict the girl’s transition. The description of
the gate is symbolic of the boundary between childhood and adulthood: “The light is softer
now” suggests a fading innocence, while the image of the girl “hanging” from the gate reflects
her suspended state—caught between two stages of life. The use of imagery like “the breeze”
and “the gentle weight of air” also evokes a sense of freedom and lightness, contrasting with the
heavier, more complex emotional landscape of adulthood. The imagery creates a transitory
moment that suggests growth and change are inevitable, yet delicate.

Dunmore’s language in To My Nine-Year-Old Self is also filled with rich, sensory imagery, but
it focuses on the past’s warmth and innocence. The speaker describes her younger self’s world
as full of light and simplicity: “You stand in a garden in the summer/ of your life.” This
imagery of sunlight and the garden evokes a sense of peace and security, where the girl is
protected from the harsh realities of the adult world. Dunmore’s use of imagery reflects the
idealised view of childhood, in which innocence is both comforting and fragile.
However, Dunmore’s imagery is tinged with a sense of loss and regret as the speaker
acknowledges the impending changes in the girl’s life. The line “A year will pass, a shadow
grows” marks the transition from carefree childhood to the inevitable challenges of growing up,
highlighting the contrast between the innocence of childhood and the complexities of
adulthood.

Form and Structure

The structure of An Easy Passage is fluid and unconstrained, with short stanzas and free verse
that mirror the girl’s spontaneous, effortless passage through the gate. Copus uses enjambment
throughout the poem, which reinforces the sense of continuous movement and transition. This
lack of a rigid structure reflects the freedom and uncertainty of adolescence, a period of growth
and change. The poem’s final lines, which describe the girl “on the other side,” evoke a sense of
closure, but the lack of definitive resolution in the structure suggests that the girl’s journey is
ongoing.

On the other hand, To My Nine-Year-Old Self is structured as a direct, personal letter, giving it
a sense of solidity and purpose. The poem’s form is more regular, with a consistent rhythm and
meter that creates a sense of stability. This regularity contrasts with the fluidity of An Easy
Passage, reinforcing the idea that the speaker is now an adult, contemplating the past with
clarity and reflection. The direct address to the younger self further underscores the personal,
intimate nature of the speaker’s reflection, inviting the reader into a space of personal
contemplation.

Attitudes and Reader Response

In An Easy Passage, Copus conveys an ambivalent attitude toward growing up. The poem
acknowledges the inevitability of change while exploring the emotional complexity of stepping
into adulthood. The girl’s experience is presented as a moment of transition, both exciting and
slightly uncertain. Readers are invited to reflect on their own moments of change and growth,
experiencing both the freedom and the anxiety that come with such transitions. The sense of
freedom expressed in the girl’s passage through the gate encourages readers to consider how
their own lives have shifted, often without full understanding or control.

Dunmore’s attitude in To My Nine-Year-Old Self is one of nostalgia and regret. The poem
expresses the speaker’s longing for the simplicity and clarity of childhood, juxtaposed with the
complex and often disillusioning reality of adult life. The speaker’s affection for her younger
self is palpable, but it is also tinged with a sense of sadness over the loss of innocence. The
reader is encouraged to reflect on their own childhood and consider the inevitability of change
and the inevitable loss of innocence that accompanies growing up. The poem invites a
meditative response, urging readers to think about the difference between who they were as
children and who they have become as adults.
Conclusion

Julia Copus’s An Easy Passage and Helen Dunmore’s To My Nine-Year-Old Self both engage
with the theme of personal growth and the passage of time, but they do so from different
emotional perspectives and using different poetic techniques. Copus’s poem focuses on the
moment of transition from childhood to adulthood, capturing both the freedom and
uncertainty of adolescence. Dunmore’s poem, in contrast, is a reflective letter to the past,
expressing longing and regret for the innocence of childhood. While Copus’s poem uses
imagery and structure to evoke movement and change, Dunmore’s work uses direct address and
rich imagery to evoke a sense of nostalgia. Both poems, however, invite readers to reflect on the
nature of identity and the inevitable loss of innocence that comes with growing up, making
them poignant reflections on the human experience.