The Golf Links

The Golf Links

The golf link lie so near the mill
That almost every day
The laboring children can look out
And see the men at play.

1. Is this brief poem satiric? Does it contain any verbal irony or is the poet making a matter-of-fact statement in words that mean just what they say?.

This poem is satiric as it was written in the time before child labour was illegal and although today, children are thought to be free to play and men are to work and earn a living, it was very different back then. To have the children stuck inside working for little or no pay is ironic as they are now sheltered from suffering such hardships. I believe that the use of the word ‘lie’ in the first line is verbally ironic because to lie is a form of relaxing and supports the contrast between the golf link and the mill.

2. This poem dates before the enactment of legislation against child labour. Is it still a good poem or is it out of date?

I think it is still a good poem as it reminds people of the way things were back then and how terrible it was for the slaving children so that we never let things go back to the way they once were.