The Hanging of the Crane
After guests celebrate hanging an iron crane in a new home's hearth, the remaining guest imagines the couple's future around their table: children arrive, young people gather, and the household disperses. His vision passes through the mother's fears for absent loved ones to a golden wedding celebration crowded with family.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Domestic Life · 2,085 words
First lines
I
The lights are out, and gone are all the guests / That thronging came with merriment and jests / To celebrate the Hanging of the Crane / In the new house, -- into the night are gone; / But still the fire upon the hearth burns on, / And I alone remain.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Seven sections of rhymed verse carry a guest's imagined sequence from a new household through parenthood and separation to a golden wedding.
- Domestic Life — The household table anchors scenes of married companionship, children eating, young guests gathering, parental anxiety, and a family celebration.
Tags
housewarming · marriage · parenthood · family separations · aging · golden wedding
What this Textopian page supports
The Hanging of the Crane 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: Narrative Poetry, Domestic Life
- Length: 2,085 words
- Structure: 1 section, 25 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Hanging of the Crane 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
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph