The Children's Hour
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!


http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=173894

This poem creates a feeling of nostalgia and wonder. The language, the usage of words, the tone, etc. all compromise for the sweet sound of the poem. It is a soft” poem and it feels delicate , rather than harsh and crude. This is due to the many words with “s” sounds and also it contains more multi-syllabic words. The rythmatic flow of the sound of the words when read outloud makes it seem like a song. Also the style of the second and fourth lines ending words rhyme.- The “patter of little feet” can be almost heard by the “tt” sounds in patter and feet. In only the second stanza, words such as “sound, soft, sweet” make the poem sweet and nice to listen to. The poem through its use of nouns and verbs dose not need to use as much adjectives for the reader. The reader intuitively knows how to form a picture in his mind without the use of adjectives bring along restrain to his imagination. The words such as “whisper, silence, eyes, surprise” also emphasize even more the softness and gentleness of the subject of children. The sudden rush is introduced by the word “surprise” and again emphasizing the “s” for sweetness into the poem. The first line creates a division between times ;however in the last lines his definition of time is forever with no divisions. This creates a parallel between time and children –that children are free with their of hour of play. However in the end the adult one tries to capture the young into a time frame of forever and a day to keep for himself. His selfish agonies will destroy the randomness of play and fun for these children.