My Books by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The speaker looks at books on a shelf as an aging knight might look at weapons he can no longer wield. Though unused, the books recall a younger, stronger self and pleasant paths now clouded and confused.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Sonnet, Reflective Poetry · 157 words
First lines
Sadly as some old mediaeval knight / Gazed at the arms he could no longer wield, / The sword two-handed and the shining shield / Suspended in the hall, and full in sight, / While secret longings for the lost delight / Of tourney or adventure in the field / Came over him, and tears but half concealed / Trembled and fell upon his beard of white, / So I behold these books upon their shelf, / My ornaments and arms of other days; / Not wholly useless, though no longer used, / For they remind me of my other self, / Younger and stronger, and the pleasant ways / In which I walked, now clouded and confused.
Genres
- Sonnet — Fourteen rhymed lines turn from a knight contemplating his unused weapons to the speaker contemplating books on a shelf.
- Reflective Poetry — The speaker considers how unused books preserve reminders of former strength and pleasures.
Tags
books · aging · memory · lost pleasures · sonnet
What this Textopian page supports
My Books 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: Sonnet, Reflective Poetry
- Length: 157 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
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