The Humming-Top by Eugene Field
A humming-top delights a dear little boy as it spins, singing its own steady, cheerful song. When its string is wound tightly and it is hurled upon the banquette, it bounds and whirls along, whirring, chirring, birring, and purring. The speaker wonders whether the boy will someday grow old and feel sorrowful when he hears songs from earlier days, and whether the top’s song will then recall the long ago as it now speaks to the speaker.
By Eugene Field · First published 1892 · Genre: Children's Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Nostalgic Poetry · 266 words
First lines
The top it hummeth a sweet, sweet song / To my dear little boy at play -- / Merrily singeth all day long, / As it spinneth and spinneth away. / And my dear little boy / He laugheth with joy / When he heareth the monotone / Of that busy thing / That loveth to sing / The song that is all its own.
Hold fast the string and wind it tight, / That the song be loud and clear; / Now hurl the top with all your might / Upon the banquette here; / And straight from the string / The joyous thing / Boundeth and spinneth along, / And it whirrs and it chirrs / And it birrs and it purrs / Ever its pretty song.
Similar titles
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- Baby Eva by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Little All Aloney English by Eugene Field
- First Stage Of The Journey by Sarah Noble Ives
- Nay But I Fancy Somehow Year By Year by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Three Years Old by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Genres
- Children's Poetry — The poem centers on a young child's delight in playing with a humming-top, using accessible imagery, musical repetition, and playful sound effects.
- Lyric Poetry — Its compact stanzas, rhythmic language, rhyme, and focus on a speaker's personal emotional response give it the character of a lyric poem.
- Nostalgic Poetry — The final stanza shifts from the child's present joy to a wistful meditation on aging, memory, and the future emotional meaning of a familiar toy.
- Family Poetry — The speaker affectionately observes and addresses the experience of 'my dear little boy,' emphasizing parental love and domestic intimacy.
Tags
children's poetry · toy top · childhood play · little boy · parental speaker · nostalgia · passing of time · aging · memory · songs of the past · innocence · future sorrow
What this Textopian page supports
The Humming-Top 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: Children's Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Nostalgic Poetry, Family Poetry, Toy and Play Poetry
- Length: 266 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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