The Open Window by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker observes an old house where the children are permanently absent, their voices now heard only in dreams, while the house-dog looks for his lost playmates. Walking beside a boy who does not understand the gesture, the speaker presses his warm hand more tightly.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Elegiac Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 206 words
First lines
The old house by the lindens / Stood silent in the shade, / And on the gravelled pathway / The light and shadow played.
I saw the nursery windows / Wide open to the air; / But the faces of the children, / They were no longer there.
The large Newfoundland house-dog / Was standing by the door; / He looked for his little playmates, / Who would return no more.
They walked not under the lindens, / They played not in the hall; / But shadow, and silence, and sadness / Were hanging over all.
What this Textopian page supports
The Open Window 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: Elegiac Poetry, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 206 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Open Window 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
- Elegiac Poetry — The silent nursery, the children's permanent absence, and their voices surviving only in dreams form a lament for lost children.
- Lyric Poetry — Six rhymed quatrains convey a speaker's sadness through observations of the house and the final tightening of a handclasp.
Tags
lost children · grief · absence · remembrance