“Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris: A Critical Analysis

Your mouth contorting in brief spite and hurt,

your laughter metamorphosed into howls,

your frame so recently relaxed now tight

with three year old frustration, your bright eyes

swimming tears, splashing your bare feet,

you stand there angling for a moment’s hint

of guilt or sorrow for the quick slap struck.

The ogre towers above you, that grim giant,

empty of feeling, a colossal cruel,

soon victim of the tale’s conclusion, dead

at last. You hate him, you imagine

chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down

or plotting deeper pits to trap him in.

You cannot understand, not yet,

the hurt your easy tears can scald him with,

nor guess the wavering hidden behind that mask.

This fierce man longs to lift you, curb your sadness

with piggy-back or bull fight, anything,

but dare not ruin the lessons you should learn.

You must not make a plaything of the rain.

🌧️ Theme 1: Misunderstanding Between Parent and Child

In “Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris, a central theme is the emotional gap and misunderstanding between the child and the parent. The little boy perceives his father as an “ogre… that grim giant,” believing him to be cruel and “empty of feeling.” However, this perception is shaped by immaturity and limited understanding. The father’s inner turmoil remains hidden from the child, who “cannot understand, not yet, the hurt your easy tears can scald him with.” This theme highlights the difference between how discipline is received and how it is intended, especially from a child’s point of view.

💔 Theme 2: Parental Love and Restraint

In “Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris, the theme of parental love expressed through restraint is deeply felt. The father is portrayed as someone who “longs to lift you, curb your sadness with piggy-back or bull fight,” but he chooses not to because he must uphold a lesson. This deliberate self-control speaks volumes about the depth of his love. The poem presents the painful reality that love sometimes requires denying one’s own emotional desires for the sake of a child’s moral and emotional development.

🧠 Theme 3: Emotional Growth and Learning

In “Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris, the theme of learning and growth through emotional experiences is central. The father’s slap, though painful, is intended to teach the child a lesson: “You must not make a plaything of the rain.” This line represents the boundaries children must learn about danger, consequences, and responsibility. The father suppresses his own emotions so the child can grow emotionally and morally, emphasizing that discipline is sometimes a necessary tool for long-term development.

🌈 Theme 4: Perception Versus Reality

In “Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris, the contrast between how things appear and what they truly are is a dominant theme. The child sees his father as a villain and fantasizes about punishing him—“chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down.” However, the reader is made aware of the father’s emotional vulnerability hidden “behind that mask.” This theme underscores how emotions and actions are often misunderstood, especially by children, and how reality is often more compassionate and complex than it appears.

🧠 1. Psychological Criticism (Freudian Theory)

“Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris can be deeply analyzed through psychological criticism, particularly Freudian ideas about childhood emotions and the unconscious. The child projects exaggerated fear and anger toward the father, calling him an “ogre,” which reflects the id’s raw emotions. The father, on the other hand, suppresses his nurturing instincts—“longs to lift you… but dare not ruin the lessons”—representing the superego’s moral restraint. This internal battle within the parent and emotional confusion in the child illustrate the psychological complexities of discipline and early development.

👪 2. Reader-Response Theory

“Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris resonates strongly with reader-response theory, as its emotional power lies in how each reader interprets the conflict. A child reader may sympathize with the boy who imagines “plotting deeper pits to trap him in,” while an adult reader may feel the hidden agony of the parent “hurt… your easy tears can scald him with.” This duality invites varied interpretations based on personal experiences with authority, parenthood, or childhood memories, proving how meaning is co-created between text and reader.

💬 3. Structuralism

From a structuralist perspective, “Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris plays with the binary oppositions of love vs. cruelty, discipline vs. care, and appearance vs. reality. The father is both “a grim giant” and a “fierce man [who] longs to lift” his child. These opposing roles highlight how meaning in the poem arises from contrasts. The poem also borrows from the fairy tale structure—with the father as an ogre and the child imagining heroic revenge—before subverting it with emotional reality, challenging archetypal roles.

📚 4. Moral-Philosophical Criticism

“Little Boy Crying” by Mervyn Morris clearly supports moral-philosophical criticism, as it explores the ethical responsibility of parenting. The father inflicts temporary emotional pain through discipline to instill a life lesson: “You must not make a plaything of the rain.” This action raises questions about right and wrong, suggesting that moral lessons often come at a cost. The poem advocates for the value of restraint, responsibility, and the greater good over momentary emotional comfort.

🌧️ “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden

Like “Little Boy Crying”, this poem explores a child’s misunderstanding of a father’s silent sacrifices and emotional restraint.

💔 “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke

This poem, like Morris’s, captures the complex emotions between father and child, blending affection with tension and discipline.

🧸 “A Story” by Li-Young Lee

This poem also examines a father’s inner struggle as he prepares his child for the difficulties of life—mirroring the restraint seen in “Little Boy Crying.”

🪞 “Walking Away” by Cecil Day-Lewis

Both poems focus on the pain of growing up and the emotional cost of parental love expressed through necessary distance or discipline.

🌙 “Father to Son” by Elizabeth Jennings

Like Morris’s work, this poem deals with emotional disconnect and the silent sorrow of a parent trying to connect with a child.