On Turning Ten By Billy Collins

In Billy Collin’s Poem “On Turning Ten,” the speaker reflects on his past birthdays leading up to the present year. Collins uses literary techniques such as foreshadowing and imagery to convey the speaker’s solemn attitude by illustrating the maturity that he is beginning to show. Foreshadowing is used throughout the beginning and middle of the poem to give insight into the feelings and attitude the speaker has about his birthday. In the second stanza, the speaker reflects back to his earlier birthdays and how innocently blissful they were. He explains that “At four I was an Arabian wizard. I could make myself invisible by drinking a glass of milk a certain way. (Lines 13-15)” This reflection of the past gives the reader insight into the attitude of the speaker by emphasizing how different his younger years looked from the present year and how he longs for the simplicity he once felt. The speaker also realizes that growing up means leaving a part of his childhood in the past. In stanza four, the speaker says, “It is time to say goodbye to my imaginary friends, time

The speaker is realizing that life is not as black and white as it was when he was younger. Turning ten is a big deal to him because he is letting go of a piece of his childhood and realizing that he isn’t as untouchable as he once was. An example of this is seen in the final stanza of the poem when the speaker explains he used to believe that there was nothing under his skin but light and if he were cut he would shine. Now that he is older, when he falls and skins his knees he bleeds. The image created in this last stanza illustrates that the speaker has matured to understand that he has faults just like adults do and that life isn’t as simple as he once thought. His attitude is not negative about growing older but instead self-aware and realistic about what growing up