On Turning Ten Literary Devices

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In the poem, On Turning Ten by Billy Collins, the poem describes what turning ten feels like. Using literary devices including tone and imagery, Collins conveys the speaker's attitude of being double digits. Illuminating the theme of losing innocence and coming of age. It also includes the mixture of a child’s imagination as well as their mind. In the first two stanzas of the poem the speaker's attitude is whimsical and dreamy. Reminded of all of the fun things that he used to do, then in the last three stanzas, it is solemn and depressing. The speaker uses very descriptive words spiking a vivid image of when he was younger. “At four I was an Arabian wizard. I could make myself invisible” (13). He used to be so carefree and happy before getting

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