To my Brooklet by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker addresses a brook hidden in the woods, sharing its solitude and asking that past sorrows give way to its peace, flowers, and waves. The brook turns contemplation into rhyme, and the speaker longs to follow its course on autumn evenings, hearing leaves and the lapwing’s cry.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Meditative Poetry · 202 words
First lines
By Jean Francois Ducis
Thou brooklet, all unknown to song, / Hid in the covert of the wood! / Ah, yes, like thee I fear the throng, / Like thee I love the solitude.
O brooklet, let my sorrows past / Lie all forgotten in their graves, / Till in my thoughts remain at last / Only thy peace, thy flowers, thy waves.
The lily by thy margin waits; -- / The nightingale, the marguerite; / In shadow here he meditates / His nest, his love, his music sweet.
Genres
- Nature Poetry — The woodland brook, waterside flowers, birds, and rustling autumn leaves supply the poem’s setting and sounds.
- Lyric Poetry — The speaker directly addresses the brook in rhymed stanzas, expressing sorrow, affection for solitude, and longing.
- Meditative Poetry — The speaker describes contemplation beside the brook and its murmuring waters turning musings into rhyme.
Tags
brooks · solitude · sorrow · contemplation · birdsong · autumn
What this Textopian page supports
To my Brooklet 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: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Meditative Poetry
- Length: 202 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for To my Brooklet 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