'T Is Late at Night, and in the Realm of Sleep
Late at night, the speaker hears clocks and distant cocks while others sleep. Tomorrow is imagined as an unknown guest urging caution about happiness; the speaker replies with contentment, uncertainty about what to ask for, and belief that God has already determined what will happen.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Sonnet, Meditative Poetry · 168 words
First lines
'T is late at night, and in the realm of sleep / My little lambs are folded like the flocks; / From room to room I hear the wakeful clocks / Challenge the passing hour, like guards that keep / Their solitary watch on tower and steep; / Far off I hear the crowing of the cocks, / And through the opening door that time unlocks / Feel the fresh breathing of To-morrow creep. / To-morrow! the mysterious, unknown guest, / Who cries to me: "Remember Barmecide, / And tremble to be happy with the rest. " / And I make answer: "I am satisfied; / I dare not ask; I know not what is best; / God hath already said what shall betide. "
What this Textopian page supports
'T Is Late at Night, and in the Realm of Sleep 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: Sonnet, Meditative Poetry
- Length: 168 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for 'T Is Late at Night, and in the Realm of Sleep 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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Genres
- Sonnet — Fourteen rhymed lines turn from nocturnal sounds in the opening eight lines to an imagined exchange with tomorrow in the final six.
- Meditative Poetry — The speaker moves from hearing clocks mark the passing hour to considering an uncertain future and accepting God's determination of events.
Tags
night · sleep · tomorrow · uncertainty · divine providence · sonnet