What is the tone in the poem, On Turning Ten?

The word choices and syntax in “On Turning Ten” are simple and straightforward yet evocative. The opening and closing stanzas are laced with similes and metaphors — the first, using hyperbolic humor to make a comically small problem seem astronomical; the final stanza, using poignancy and imagery to illuminate a deeper truth. Despite the shift in tone, however, the language is kept intentionally easy enough for a child to understand. The poem uses vivid images like “Arabian wizard” (Line 13) to communicate a big idea through approachable word choices. These choices and devices give the poem a feeling of transcending the “adult” into a new level of consciousness that only a child could truly grasp.