The Children's Hour Figurative Language

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A charming poem by Longfellow portrays a heartwarming memory of mischievous children attempting to surprise their father. Within "The Children's Hour" he dabbles in metaphors and imagery to elaborate upon the happiness that comes with children and those precious memories from their childhood that one must cling on to. Whilst the poem is clearly explaining a children's game, Henry cleverly uses an extended metaphor to compare the game to a raid on a castle. The fifth stanza brilliantly captures this metaphor as he first explains the children coming from the stairway and continues into the fictional raid on his "castle" or his study. From this stanza one can conclude that he is contrasting a rather violent raid to happy children's game giving …show more content…
rhyme scheme along with plenty of consonance, alliteration, and assonance to give the poem a jovial tone that reflects the laughter and happiness that came with the children. The lines playfully skip and flow into each other as they create a melody delightful to the ear. Children love words and/or phrases that are amusing to say; Henry cleverly forms short phrases that use assonance to make the pleasing phrases such as Grave Alice, / and laughing Allegra, / And Edith with golden hair. (l.11-12) The second stanza," 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. (s. 2)" is a good example of his skillful use of consonance, assonance, and alliteration. This use of sound devices turns the poem into a jolly song that keeps the reader bounding from stanza to stanza intoxicated by the children's glee. Therefore, with his manipulation of syntax and use of diction he creates a light-hearted tone to compliment the happy memory and the laughter of …show more content…
Additionally, the names mentioned in lines eleven and twelve are the names of three of his daughters (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). Moreover, Henry adored his children greatly and was undoubtedly inspired by the loving atmosphere around him. The Maine Historical Society explains, "The Longfellows raised their children at Craigie House and formed the warm family circle that, through its reflection in many poems, became a kind of national symbol for domestic love, the innocence of childhood, and the pleasure of material comfort." Therefore, it is most probable that he was recounting a heartwarming memory in order to treasure it in times to come. Within this poem, Henry truly captures the speaker's joy in this memory full of gleeful children. Metaphors that contrast an aggressive castle raid to a children's playful game aided by hyperboles create a humours and precious situation. Edith, Allegra, and Alice were his own children adding substantial personal value to the poem, as well as genuine merriment from the memories that all parents can relate too. Henry's life was filled with heartbreak with the death of both of his wives; undoubtedly joyful moments documented in his poems gave him a light to guide him through troubling times. All the different uses of imagery, sound devices, syntax, and diction combine to give the poem an uplifting mood that is sure to put a smile on one's face.
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