Twilight by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
As wind lashes a rough sea, a child presses close to the window of a fisherman's cottage, and a woman's shadow moves inside. The speaker asks what the ocean and wind tell the child and why they drive the color from the mother's cheek.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Descriptive Poetry · 219 words
First lines
The twilight is sad and cloudy, / The wind blows wild and free, / And like the wings of sea-birds / Flash the white caps of the sea.
But in the fisherman's cottage / There shines a ruddier light, / And a little face at the window / Peers out into the night.
Close, close it is pressed to the window, / As if those childish eyes / Were looking into the darkness, / To see some form arise.
And a woman's waving shadow / Is passing to and fro, / Now rising to the ceiling, / Now bowing and bending low.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Six rhymed stanzas move from a child's watch at the window to unanswered questions about the child's thoughts and the mother's pallor.
- Descriptive Poetry — Whitecaps, cottage light, a face against the window, and a moving shadow establish the scene before the closing questions.
Tags
rough seas · night wind · childhood · motherhood · fisherman's cottage
What this Textopian page supports
Twilight 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: Lyric Poetry, Descriptive Poetry
- Length: 219 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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