POEM ANALYSIS

And the friendship old and the early loves

Come back with a Sabbath sound, as of doves

In quiet neighborhoods.

And the verse of that sweet old song,

When I visit the dear old town;

But the native air is pure and sweet,

And the trees that o'ershadow each well-known street,

As they balance up and down,

Rhyme

I remember the black wharves and the slips,

And the sea-tides tossing free;

And the Spanish sailors with bearded lips,

And the beauty and mystery of the ships,

(Stanza 3 line 1, 3 & 4)

And the bugle wild and shrill.

And the music of that old song

Throbs in my memory still:

'A boy's will is the wind's will,

(Stanza 4 line 5, 7 & 8)

I remember the sea-fight far away,

How it thundered over the tide!

And the dead captains, as they lay

In their graves, overlooking the tranquil bay

(Stanza 5 line 1, 3 & 4)

Metaphor

'A boy's will is the wind's will

(Last 2 lines in every stanza)

• determinations
• unconstrained & liberty
• insane thoughts, magnificent dream

And islands that were the Hesperides

Of all my boyish dreams.

(Stanza 2 Line 3 & 4)

• Greek mythology
• mighty, braveness & powerful
• grand & remarkable

Simile

And the friendship old and the early loves

Come back with a Sabbath sound, as of doves (Stanza 6 Line 3 & 4)

• peaceful & calm
• friendship & early love

Alliteration

Personafication

'The sunrise gun, with its hollow roar' (Stanza 4, line 3)

'And the burden of the old song,

it murmurs and whispers still' (Stanza 2, line 6 & 7)

'And my youth comes back to me.' (Stanza 1, line 5)

Repetition

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

and the thought of youth are long, long thoughts." (Last two lines in every stanza.)

Symbols

Character

• Hesperides

• Protagonist
• Emotion
• Adult
• Alone

Plot

Background of Poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Childhood memories

POEM ANALYSIS

• Born on February 27th, 1807
• Portland, Maine, United States of America
• Enrolled and taught in Bowdoin College
• Became a professor at Harvard
• Both his wives died in tragic deaths
• Literature focused mainly on romanticism
• Henry died at the age of 75

Figurative language

"Is singing and saying still" (Stanza 3, line 7)

"I remember the gleams and glooms that dart" (Stanza 7, line 1)

"The song and the silence in the heart" (Stanza7, line 3)

Summary

Conflict

Burden

Setting

• Poet's past memories
• Youth, in his town.
• Recalling profound memories

- people, objects, terrains, atmosphere

- different rendition of scenery

• Detailed description
• Mixed emotions
• Expression of thoughts

- nostalgic past experiences

• Youth - never returns
• Everything left - memories

MY LOST YOUTH

• 1812-1813
• Seaside town, Portland, Maine

-pleasant streets, wharves, shores, hills and groves.

• Morning, afternoon or evening

-sunrise, gleams and glooms, shadows, thundered

• Rain storming
• Emotion

-sentimental elements

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Conclusion

Theme

• We can not regain what we have lost

• We dont know what we have until its gone

Tone

Point of View

• First person point of view
• Voice and consciousness
• Position and presence
• Allow readers to be able to put themselves in the poet’s shoes.
• Reader’s imagination

• Nostalgia

-nostalgic experiences

- wistful memories possessed

- reminiscence

• Emotion

- sentiments & feelings

- melancholy (somber, depressing)

- lost youth haunts

- expresses thoughts & mood alone

- depicted by instances of events

Joyful

-gleams he caught in the trees

Dramatic

-a song singing when he sees the ‘magic’ of the sea.

Calm

-the song that the groves sang gave a serene, calming feel.

THE END