Childhood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The speaker remembers playing with his parents, wondering about the moon, sun and stars, and saying the prayer his mother taught him. He laments the loss of boyhood's happiness and peace, asking God to preserve his cherished memories.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Nostalgic Poetry, Childhood Poetry · 471 words
First lines
By Jens Immanuel Baggesen
There was a time when I was very small, / When my whole frame was but an ell in height; / Sweetly, as I recall it, tears do fall, / And therefore I recall it with delight.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Rhymed four-line stanzas express the speaker's delight and tears as he recalls his childhood.
- Nostalgic Poetry — The speaker contrasts remembered boyhood happiness and peace with their disappearance, praying that their memory will remain.
- Childhood Poetry — The recollections center on play with parents, a child's questions about heavenly bodies, and a prayer learned from his mother.
Tags
childhood memories · parents · moon and stars · prayer · lost happiness
What this Textopian page supports
Childhood is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Nostalgic Poetry, Childhood Poetry
- Length: 471 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Childhood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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