Forsaken by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A mother clings to her child, whose frank gaze brings her back to innocence. She urges the child never to be false as its father was to her, promises never to abandon it, and asks it to remain with her until her death.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Dramatic Monologue · 162 words
First lines
Something the heart must have to cherish, / Must love and joy and sorrow learn, / Something with passion clasp or perish, / And in itself to ashes burn.
So to this child my heart is clinging, / And its frank eyes, with look intense, / Me from a world of sin are bringing / Back to a world of innocence.
Disdain must thou endure forever; / Strong may thy heart in danger be! / Thou shalt not fail! but ah, be never / False as thy father was to me.
Never will I forsake thee, faithless, / And thou thy mother ne'er forsake, / Until her lips are white and breathless, / Until in death her eyes shall break.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Four rhymed quatrains express a mother's attachment to her child and her resolve never to forsake it.
- Dramatic Monologue — A mother addresses her child directly, revealing the father's faithlessness and asking for the child's enduring loyalty.
Tags
maternal love · faithlessness · innocence · loyalty · abandonment
What this Textopian page supports
Forsaken is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Dramatic Monologue
- Length: 162 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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