 Hello, and welcome to a summary of what you need to know about the poem Hide and Seek by Vernon Scannell. I'll explain the meaning related to this poem as it appears in Part 3 of the Pears and Edexcel International GCSE anthology. Now do bear in mind that in contrast to Part 1 of the anthology which featured only non-fiction texts and Part 2 which was a mix of fiction and short stories and poems. Part 3 of this anthology exclusively features poems alone, so in this video I'll highlight key language and literary devices used in the poem and you'll learn how to analyse it. So let's get started. Now what I will do is read parts of this stanza and bear in mind in terms of the structure it's just one long stanza. So I'll stop and pause after they try the lane, explain and analyse elements of this first half of the stanza before continuing. So let's begin. Call out, call out loud. I'm ready, come and find me. The sacks in the toolsheds smell like the seaside. They'll never find you in this salty dark, but be careful that your feet aren't sticking out. Wiser not to risk another shout. The floor is cold. They'll probably be searching the bushes near the swing. Whatever happens you mustn't sneeze when they come prowling in, and here they are whispering at the door. You've never heard them sound so hushed before. Don't breathe. Don't move. Stay dumb. Hide in your blindness. They're moving closer, someone stumbles, mutters. The words and laughter scuffle and they're gone. But don't just come out just yet. They'll try the lane. So pause there for now. Now the title is really interesting because essentially what the title does is it's referring to a very infamous childhood game hide and seek where some of the children hide whilst one child seeks. Of course here in this instance in the poem what we're getting a description of is one particular child who's very intent on winning in this game and how they hide out. Now the opening two phrases call out, call out loud. This repetition of call shows the excitement of this particular child that we focus on. I'm ready, come and find me. Now these exclamatory sentences build up our anticipation of this game as we're seeing it through the lens of this child. Now this child chooses a tool shed and we learn the sacks in the tool shed smell like the seaside and the sibilants here, sacks smell on seaside is used to really show the and to emphasize the atmosphere of the place that this child was chosen to hide themselves in. And similarly like the seaside is really, really powerful because it's again using more sensory imagery to show just how vividly the place that the child has chosen as their hiding spot smells and even looks because of course also we learn that it's quite dark. Now the child is really excited and the speaker states they'll never find you in this sort of dark and the term they'll never. This is hyperbole again showing the narrators almost childlike voice and they're echoing this excitement that this child feels in possibly winning this game because they've chosen such a good hiding spot. Moreover the second person pronoun you puts us in the position of the child as they're hiding in this dark tool shed. Moreover in line four the imperative voice but be careful that your feet aren't sticking out. What this shows is that highlights almost the childlike worries that this child has in terms of being discovered in this tiny tool shed that they're hiding in. Of course the tool shed is so small that if they're not careful their feet could poke out from behind or rather beneath the tool shed so this child is being exceptionally careful and the imperative sentence is almost somebody outside the narrative voices outside and they're telling the child oh be careful and they're giving them all of this advice and how to win this game. Now in line six the floor is cold now this declarative sentence highlights how the child has paused and is extremely still and also it highlights just how uncomfortable this hiding place is but of course it's showing just how intent this child is on winning. Now the caesarea or caesura after the floor is cold makes us pause and it reflects the child staying really still. Moreover there's a lot of enjambement used here so searching and after happens as well and what the enjambement does in this instance is it speeds up the pace of the poem adding to the anticipation and the excitement that this child feels as they're hiding. Moreover in line eight the speak of the narrative voice states you mustn't sneeze and what this shows is this child who's hiding is almost afraid to breathe so they don't get caught. Furthermore the children or rather the child that is searching for them and of course it's interesting that they mention they so it seemed like more than one child is searching for this child who's hiding they can't prowling in. Now the other children who are searching are depicted like predators coming perilously close to this child who's hiding. Moreover they're whispering at the door and the onomatopoeia here emphasizes the stealthy movements of these people. Now in line 10 the speaker states you've never heard them sound so hush before so the the children who are looking for this one particular child they are passing very close to the tool shed and they're sounding really really silent and then on top of that later on someone stumbles. Now the sibilance is used here which is increasing the stakes and winning the game becomes so crucial to this child they're hiding the breath they're really really fearful and the sibilance adds to this sense of fear. Moreover in line 11 don't breathe don't move. Now these imperative short sentences and the alliteration of the plosive sounds in many ways what this does is it's shown this child is really really fearful they have put so much on the line to try and win this game. Moreover the speaker or the narrative voice states hide in your blindness and what this shows is that the spot that this child has chosen to hide in is extremely dark almost as if they have been made blind as they are they've shut this tool shed and cut out all the lights. Now the child hears the words and laughter scuffle and they're gone. Now there's a sudden shift in tempos these children the people who are looking for this child they've moved from being very hushed to having lots and lots of noise the words and the laughing and the scuffling and then they run away. Now this sudden shift in tempo from extreme silence to loud laughing and running shows that these children have in many ways gone to maybe chase elsewhere for this child or to look elsewhere for this child. However the speaker the narrative voice says but don't come out just yet so this child carries on hiding. Now let's continue and then the greenhouse and back here again they must be thinking that you're very clever getting more puzzled as they search all over it seems a long time since they went away your legs are stiff the cold bites through your coat the dark damn smell of sand moves in your throat it's time to let them know you're the winner push off the sacks uncurl and stretch that's better out of the shed and call out to them of one here I am come and own up I've caught you the darkening garden watches nothing stares the bushes hold their breath the sun is gone yes here you are but where are they who sought you now this final part of the stanza is quite poignant because we learned that after all of this child's efforts yes they do win but it's almost a hollow victory because these children when they were laughing and running off they run off and continued another game so there's a sense of abandonment as the poem ends now in line 15 and then the greenhouse and back here again so the policy and it in here shows that the child is intent on winning they are imagining how all the children are looking they're looking around looking around and this is shown through the polysindicine in the following line they must be thinking you're very clever now this intensifier gives us a sense of the childlike voice just how keen this child is to win and of course this shows that this is almost like a very childlike game and this child is so so intent on winning moreover the mention of clever and which rhymes with over in the following line now this rhyming couplet emphasizes the child's glee at hoping to win they feel a lot of glee at choosing the perfect hiding spot however we learn it seems a long time since they went away so the child has been waiting and waiting and waiting and time has gone it's gone from being day time to night time now the term a long time what this shows is the unbearable length of waiting time the time for this child is even more elongated than normal moreover in line 19 the cold bites through your coat this personification of cold biting through the child's coat emphasizes not only is it really uncomfortable hiding in this dark tool shed now they become doubly uncomfortable because they're freezing moreover the dark damp smell of sand and the dark damp the alliteration highlights the oppressive atmosphere of this tool shed moreover the sibilance here smell of sand and what this does is it helps us as readers vividly sense the coarseness of the sand that surrounds this child in this tool shed now in line 19 and 20 the your legs are stiff the cold bites through your coat the dark damp smell of sand moves in your throat now the syndetine that's used emphasizes that this child has been in the dark for a very long time moreover the child then pushes off the sacks uncull and stretch now these imperative sentences again the narrative was interjecting and telling the child okay you can come out now you can unravel all of these things and open the tool shed then the exclamatory sentence that's better shows how excited but also relieved the child is to have won this game now we then hear the child directly of one here i am come and own up of court you now this is the child's direct speech we hear for the first time directly from this child who feels really triumphant that they've won this game however this is almost a let down because in line 25 there's only the darkening garden there to celebrate this very hollow victory with this child and the bushes hold their breath the personification that's used here the personification of the garden in the bushes shows just how silent and isolated the area is and how the other children have essentially abandoned this child moreover the caesarea hair creates a volta after the darkening garden watches this volta highlights that this child has been abandoned by their friends and now it's completely dark and they've been forgotten about moreover this darkness and silence is emphasized nothing stares and this simple sentence emphasizes the terrifying moment that this child realizes they have been abandoned moreover the darkness is emphasized the sun is gone and the pathetic fallacy here emphasizes the pain that this child must feel at abandonment now the poem ends with a rhetorical question but where are they who sought you and what this rhetorical question does is emphasizes the feet bitter feeling of abandonment that this child feels it's gone from being a really fun game one which the child has felt like they've won to actually disintegrating into the other children abandoning this child and then now out on a cold tool shed in a garden that's quite silent so that's all if you found this video useful do note that we have an in-depth extensive course covering all the texts and poems in parts one two and three of the anthologies so make sure you do sign up for this course for explanations on all these texts as well as model answers also do check out our website which is www.firstreadoutors.com where you can find plenty of English revision worksheets model answers and online courses covering all the major English syllabuses including edXL, AQA and IGCSE thanks so much for listening