‘'Children of Wealth' by Elizabeth Daryush – Grade 9 Study Guide for Cambridge iGCSE

Ace your exam with this analysis of Elizabeth Daryush's 'Children of Wealth'

Analysis
Elizabeth Daryush’s 'Children of Wealth' is a sharp and unsettling sonnet that critiques privilege and social inequality. The poem describes wealthy children sitting in comfort, watching the snow from behind a nursery window, untouched by its “cruel truths.” Through rich imagery and direct address, Daryush shows how wealth insulates them from hardship but also stunts their ability to feel and understand. The sonnet structure, combined with plain diction and urgent imperatives, drives home her message that privilege is fragile and unsustainable. Ultimately, 'Children of Wealth' is a warning about the moral and emotional costs of a life of comfort.

00:00 Intro
00:05 Context
02:08 Structural overview
07:30 Title
08:20 Line-by-line analysis

Additional resources
For more exam tips, resources, and one-to-one tutoring, visit my website: www.clairesnotes.com
Check out the rest of my videos on the poems from the Cambridge iGCSE Vol 2 2026 onwards anthology:    • Songs of Ourselves Vol 2 2026  

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The Poem
Children of Wealth by Elizabeth Daryush

Children of wealth in in your warm nursery,
Set in the cushioned window-seat to watch
The volleying snow, guarded invisibly
By the clear double pane through which no touch
Untimely penetrates, you cannot tell
What winter means; its cruel truths to you
Are only sound and sight; your citadel
Is safe from feeling, and from knowledge too.

Go down, go out to elemental wrong,
Waste your too round limbs, tan your skin too white;
The glass of comfort, ignorance, seems strong
To-day, and yet perhaps this very night

You'll wake to horror's wrecking fire - your home
Is wired within for this, in every room.

About Me
I’m an experienced English teacher with over 25 years of classroom and private tutoring experience. My videos are tailored to help students achieve top marks in AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA and Cambridge IGCSE English exams.

Please note that any literature analysis is highly subjective and may disagree with analysis by another person. All interpretations are valid if they can be justified by reference to the text. This interpretation is my own: it is not exhaustive and there are alternatives!

Let’s Discuss!
How does Daryush use the image of children in a nursery to explore privilege and inequality?
In what ways does the protective glass window become a metaphor for social class and insulation from hardship?
What effect does the shift to direct imperatives (“Go down, go out…”) have on the poem’s tone and message?
And finally, do you think Children of Wealth is mainly a critique of childhood innocence, of wealth itself, or of the social systems that keep privilege in place?

Share your interpretations in the comments — I’d love to hear how you read it!