Hushaby, Sweet my Own by Eugene Field
A mother in a humble home beside the sea sings her child to sleep while looking toward a fair castle on a hill. The castle holds wealth, and revellers there toast a little one's health, while the mother and child wait for another loved one who has sailed away. Ghostlike forms rise from the misty sea, but the mother urges the child not to see them or cry until the angels of death pass by. The spirits disregard the lonely home and go instead to the castle, where they carry out their purpose. As the mother continues her lullaby, a mother in the castle faints, and angels descend to the misty deep bearing a little child asleep.
By Eugene Field · First published 1892 · Genre: Lullaby, Narrative Poetry, Victorian Poetry · 313 words
First lines
Fair is the castle up on the hill -- / Hushaby, sweet my own! / The night is fair, and the waves are still, / And the wind is singing to you and to me / In this lowly home beside the sea -- / Hushaby, sweet my own!
On yonder hill is store of wealth -- / Hushaby, sweet my own! / And revellers drink to a little one's health; / But you and I bide night and day / For the other love that has sailed away -- / Hushaby, sweet my own!
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Genres
- Lullaby — The poem is structured as a mother’s soothing song to her child, with the repeated refrain 'Hushaby, sweet my own!' and imagery of sleep.
- Narrative Poetry — It tells a compressed story of two mothers, one in a poor seaside home and one in a castle, linked by bereavement and loss.
- Victorian Poetry — Its sentimental diction, moral contrast between wealth and poverty, supernatural imagery, and elegiac tone align with late nineteenth-century Victorian poetic conventions.
- Tragic Poetry — The central action concerns a child’s death, a grieving mother, and the helplessness of those awaiting or enduring loss.
Tags
lullaby · narrative poem · Victorian poetry · childhood · mother and child · maternal love · infant sleep · death of a child · mourning · bereavement · poverty and wealth · class contrast
What this Textopian page supports
Hushaby, Sweet my Own is listed on Textopian as a poem by Eugene Field, dated 1892 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Eugene Field
- Date: 1892 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lullaby, Narrative Poetry, Victorian Poetry, Tragic Poetry, Elegy
- Length: 313 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Hushaby, Sweet my Own by Eugene Field
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