Whatif by Shel Silverstein

Content:The title of the poem Whatif refers to the fears and paranoid
questions we have at night, as we are more vulnerable. The poet
combines the words what and if in a child-like manner. The
Main theme of the poem is fears of a child. In almost every line
the poet adds a new fear. He mentions numerous childish fears
like the fear of failing at school, being bullied, growing green
chest hair and teeth not growing straight. He also mentions fears
that a human at any age can relate to such as the fear of getting
sick, dying, parents getting divorced and wars breaking out. The
speaker in this poem is a child, so it is something any child (also a
teenager) an identify with. The tone of the poem is anxious to
reflect how being afraid can shake us.

Form:The poem belongs to narrative poetry; it is long and uses personal

language to describe feelings. The poem is made up of 26 lines
with an almost consistent line length. They could be divided into 6
quatrains and a couplet. Alliteration is found in pranced and
partied; it reflects the pain these fears cause him. Assonance is
clear in I and die; it shows a cry inside him in fear of death.
Consonance is evident in never, learn and dance. This sound
portrays some sort of whining sound inside him. Repetition
resonates in the whatifs throughout the poem. They represent
the worries the child has at night.

The imagery:A kinesthetic image is found in crawled, pranced, dance and

strike; they show how shaky his fears have left him. An auditory
image is clear in ear, partied, sang and cry; they highlight
how loud his fears have become. A visual image is drawn in
night, pool, green and lightning; they illustrate how young

and nave the child is. A gustatory image is evident in poison

and sick; they show how venomous the fears are to a little child.
An organic image is found in thinking, dumb, die and war;
they elaborate how terrified the child is at night.

Figures of speech:There is a metaphor in some Whatifs crawled; it compares fears

to insects to portray the terrifying impact they have.
Personification is clear in pranced and partied, sang their same
old Whatif song and Whatifs strike again; the fears are
compared to humans to convey their strength and actuality. There
is hyperbole in all night long; the night anxiety remains a part of
the night then the person sleeps. There is an allusion to the two
novels Inside Out and Back Again and The Diary of Anne Frank. In
Whatif green hair grows on my chest and Whatif nobody likes
me, the poet discusses the fear of not fitting in. This fear has
been a prominent theme in Inside Out and Back Again. In Whatif I
get sick and die?, the poet alludes to The Diary of Anne Frank. In
this novel, death is a constant dreadful possibility.

Symbols and motifs:The motif of the poem is distinctly fears; it is evident in the
repetition of the word whatif which refers to a new kind of fear in
every new line. The symbols of fear are mentioned throughout the
poem. The idea of the night, with the fears crawling inside the
childs ear, deliver the idea. The fear of getting beat up, or
accidentally drinking poison.