The Castle-Builder by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A boy builds castles with wooden blocks, rides on his father's knee, and listens to nursery tales of heroes and adventures. The speaker anticipates further wonders for him and urges him to keep building and preserve his faith in mysteries.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Childhood Poetry, Inspirational Poetry · 170 words
First lines
A gentle boy, with soft and silken locks / A dreamy boy, with brown and tender eyes, / A castle-builder, with his wooden blocks, / And towers that touch imaginary skies.
A fearless rider on his father's knee, / An eager listener unto stories told / At the Round Table of the nursery, / Of heroes and adventures manifold.
There will be other towers for thee to build; / There will be other steeds for thee to ride; / There will be other legends, and all filled / With greater marvels and more glorified.
Build on, and make thy castles high and fair, / Rising and reaching upward to the skies; / Listen to voices in the upper air, / Nor lose thy simple faith in mysteries.
Genres
- Childhood Poetry — Four rhymed stanzas portray a boy's wooden-block castles, play on his father's knee, and eager listening to nursery stories.
- Inspirational Poetry — The speaker encourages the boy to continue building imaginary castles and retain his faith in mysteries.
Tags
childhood · imaginative play · wooden blocks · storytelling · wonder
What this Textopian page supports
The Castle-Builder 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: Childhood Poetry, Inspirational Poetry
- Length: 170 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Castle-Builder by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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