Analysis of When i was a boy

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



Up in the attic where I slept
When I was a boy, a little boy,
In through the lattice the moonlight crept,
Bringing a tide of dreams that swept
Over the low, red trundle-bed,
Bathing the tangled curly head,
While moonbeams played at hide-and-seek
With the dimples on the sun-browned cheek -
When I was a boy, a little boy!

And, oh! the dreams - the dreams I dreamed!
When I was a boy, a little boy!
For the grace that through the lattice streamed
Over my folded eyelids seemed
To have the gift of prophecy,
And to bring me glimpses of times to be
When manhood's clarion seemed to call -
Ah! that was the sweetest dream of all,
When I was a boy, a little boy!

I'd like to sleep where I used to sleep
When I was a boy, a little boy!
For in at the lattice the moon would peep,
Bringing her tide of dreams to sweep
The crosses and griefs of the years away
From the heart that is weary and faint to-day;
And those dreams should give me back again
A peace I have never known since then -
When I was a boy, a little boy!


Scheme aBaaccddB eBeeffggB hBhhiijjB
Poetic Form
Metre 10010111 111010101 01010011 10011111 10011101 10010101 1111101 101010111 111010101 01010111 111010101 101110101 1011011 11011100 0111101111 11100111 111010111 111010101 111111111 111010101 1010100111 10011111 0100110101 10111100111 011111101 011110111 111010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 994
Words 205
Sentences 9
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 9, 9, 9
Lines Amount 27
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 258
Words per stanza (avg) 68
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:02 min read
89

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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