Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Frederick Louis MacNeice’s poem "Riddle" is a reflection on the passing of time and the way childhood fears and questions persist, even as the world changes around us. Using the framework of a riddle, the poem moves between the innocence and imagination of childhood and the sterility of the modern world, exploring themes of memory, fear, and loss.

The poem opens with the riddle: "What is it that goes round and round the house?" This question, which is simple yet mysterious, evokes the kind of riddles children might pose to one another, often reflecting their innocent curiosity or latent fears. The speaker recalls the initial guesses—"A wolf, we thought, or a ghost?"—suggesting the types of imagined dangers that children, with their fertile imaginations, might conjure up. These guesses highlight the natural childhood fear of the unknown, especially at night, when the world outside seems full of threats.

The description of the children turning their "cold backs" to the "chink in the kitchen shutter" while the "range made our small scared faces warm as toast" captures the tension between comfort and fear. The range provides warmth and safety, a symbol of the cozy domestic space, while the shutter, with its small gap, allows just enough of the outside world to remind the children of its lurking dangers. The imagery of being "warm as toast" reinforces the sense of security found in the familiar, homely setting, but it is juxtaposed against the vulnerability of the children, whose fears still cling to them despite their physical warmth.

The poem then takes a turn toward the present: "But now the cook is dead and the cooking, no doubt, electric." This shift signals the passage of time, and with it, the loss of the old world of childhood. The cook, who once provided warmth and nourishment, has passed away, and the intimate, human connection represented by cooking has been replaced by impersonal, modern technology. The phrase "no room for draught or dream, for child or mouse" reflects the sterility of this new world, one that has become too efficient and cold to accommodate the imperfections, imaginings, and small creatures that once filled it.

Yet, despite these changes, the speaker notes that the question of the riddle still persists: "Though we, in another place, still put ourselves the question: / What is it that goes round and round the house?" Even though the physical setting has changed, and the children have grown up and moved on, the riddle remains. This suggests that some questions, particularly those that arise from childhood fears and mysteries, never fully leave us. The repetition of the riddle at the poem’s close emphasizes its enduring nature, a question that continues to circle around the speaker’s consciousness, just as the mysterious "it" circles the house.

The unresolved nature of the riddle, with no answer provided, adds to the poem's sense of lingering mystery. What goes "round and round the house" could be a metaphor for time itself, which circles back on us through memory and the recurring questions that haunt us throughout life. It could also represent the persistent fears and anxieties that never fully dissipate, even as we grow older and the world around us changes. The ambiguity of the riddle leaves room for multiple interpretations, but what remains clear is that certain fears and mysteries, especially those rooted in childhood, stay with us, no matter how much our external circumstances may shift.

In "Riddle," MacNeice captures the delicate interplay between past and present, innocence and experience. The poem reflects on how childhood questions and fears can continue to shape us long after the physical spaces of our childhoods have disappeared. Through its simple yet evocative imagery, the poem reminds us that some mysteries remain unresolved, circling around us like the unseen presence in the riddle, connecting us to a past that we never fully leave behind.

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