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By the early 20th century, "The
Children's Hour" became one of the poems most frequently taught in American schools. In 1924, for example, one study noted it was often taught in grades 3 to 6. Educator R. L. Lyman, who conducted the study, found it problematic, writing that the poem, "in vocabulary,
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More recently, the poem has been called overly-sentimental, as have many of
Longfellow's works. Scholar Richard Ruland, for example, warns that modern readers might find it "not only simple and straightforward, but perhaps saccharine overly emotional", though he concludes it is a successful poem.
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and hears his daughters in the room above. He describes them as an approaching army about to enter through a "sudden rush" and a "sudden raid" via unguarded doors. Climbing into his arms, the girls "devour" their father with kisses, who in turn promises to keep them forever in the dungeon of his
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Scholar
Matthew Gartner, however, uses the poem as an example of how Longfellow invited his readers into his private home life in New England to refine them and teach them lessons in virtue.
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The penultimate stanza features at the final scene in the
Catherine Cookson novel (and the 1998 Festival Film and Television motion picture production)
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was enthusiastic about the poem, noting that it would be adored by "the parental public". A group portrait of the three
Longfellow daughters by
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was widely reproduced and distributed along with the poem. A copy of the print was found near the body of a soldier at the
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allusion and atmosphere," was not an appropriate choice and concluded, "'The
Children's Hour' is a true poem
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children." "The
Children's Hour" has remained one of the most frequently cited favorite American poems.
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Gartner, Matthew. "Longfellow's Place: The Poet and Poetry of
Craigie House" in
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The poem describes the poet's idyllic family life with his own three daughters,
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and featured his life and works, including "The
Children's Hour".
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Lyman, R. L. "What Poetry Shall We Teach in the Grades?" in
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Public Poet, Private Man: Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow at 200
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children; it is not, as we have assumed, a poem primarily
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after the July 1 – July 3, 1863 battle, now held by the
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Works originally published in The Atlantic (magazine)
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Ruland, Richard. "Longfellow and the Modern Reader",
43:, first published in the September 1860 edition of
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311:. University of Massachusetts Press, 2009: 28.
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291:. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003: 258.
103:. In 1883, a year after the poet's death, a
27:'s portrait of Longfellow's three daughters
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78:section at the end of the 1863 collection
74:"The Children's Hour" was included in the
770:Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site
387:. Vol. 55, No. 6 (September 1966): 665.
353:. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004: 251–252.
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167:They are plotting and planning together
140:Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
289:A Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Companion
225:Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
185:If I try to escape, they surround me;
154:From my study I see in the lamplight,
142:That is known as the Children's Hour.
138:When the night is beginning to lower,
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832:Poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
194:Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
332:. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004: 275.
203:Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,
183:O'er the arms and back of my chair;
149:The sound of a door that is opened,
643:Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr.
400:. Vol. 73, No. 1 (March 2000): 33.
240:and published as number 74 in his
221:And there will I keep you forever,
190:They almost devour me with kisses,
158:Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
136:Between the dark and the daylight,
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374:. Vol. 1, No. 4 (June 1924): 149.
236:"The Children's Hour" was set by
216:But put you down into the dungeon
205:Because you have scaled the wall,
410:Maine Historical Society Website
172:A sudden rush from the stairway,
156:Descending the broad hall stair,
796:"the mills of God grind slowly"
576:The Courtship of Miles Standish
351:Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life
330:Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life
269:The Almanac of American Letters
218:In the round-tower of my heart.
212:I have you fast in my fortress,
165:Yet I know by their merry eyes
163:A whisper, and then a silence:
145:I hear in the chamber above me
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801:"Whom the gods would destroy"
372:The Elementary English Review
176:By three doors left unguarded
214:And will not let you depart,
207:Such an old mustache as I am
192:Their arms about me entwine,
181:They climb up into my turret
174:A sudden raid from the hall!
655:Ernest Wadsworth Longfellow
209:Is not a match for you all!
187:They seem to be everywhere.
160:And Edith with golden hair.
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722:(Cambridge, Massachusetts)
714:Wadsworth-Longfellow House
499:The Battle of Lovells Pond
449:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
227:And moulder in dust away!
178:They enter my castle wall!
151:And voices soft and sweet.
147:The patter of little feet,
41:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
749:Washington, D.C. memorial
620:The Sermon of St. Francis
534:The Wreck of the Hesperus
398:The New England Quarterly
84:. Longfellow's publisher
791:Dante Society of America
742:Portland, Maine memorial
101:Maine Historical Society
70:Publication and response
223:Yes, forever and a day,
169:To take me by surprise.
679:Richard Henry Dana III
637:Alexander S. Wadsworth
605:Tales of a Wayside Inn
562:The Death of Minnehaha
520:The Village Blacksmith
81:Tales of a Wayside Inn
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649:Alice Mary Longfellow
598:The Saga of King Olaf
527:The Skeleton in Armor
307:Irmscher, Christoph.
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775:Longfellow Mountains
557:The Song of Hiawatha
349:Calhoun, Charles C.
328:Calhoun, Charles C.
97:Battle of Gettysburg
90:Thomas Buchanan Read
46:The Atlantic Monthly
25:Thomas Buchanan Read
584:The Children's Hour
385:The English Journal
33:The Children's Hour
691:Stephen Longfellow
608:(collection, 1863)
591:Paul Revere's Ride
544:(collection, 1842)
109:Longfellow's Dream
107:was staged titled
94:American Civil War
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16:Poem by Longfellow
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765:Longfellow Bridge
737:Longfellow Square
716:(Portland, Maine)
710:(Portland, Maine)
685:Samuel Longfellow
267:Nelson, Randy F.
39:by American poet
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720:Longfellow House
673:Richard Bonython
541:Poems on Slavery
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663:(father-in-law)
661:Nathan Appleton
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613:Christmas Bells
506:A Psalm of Life
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569:Santa Filomena
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232:In other media
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105:tableau vivant
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200:on the Rhine!
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681:(son-in-law)
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238:Charles Ives
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198:Mouse-Tower
827:1860 poems
816:Categories
708:Birthplace
675:(ancestor)
651:(daughter)
549:Evangeline
255:References
758:Namesakes
730:Memorials
687:(brother)
513:Excelsior
464:Outre-Mer
242:114 Songs
63:his study
23:Print of
693:(father)
645:(nephew)
622:" (1875)
615:" (1863)
600:" (1863)
593:" (1860)
586:" (1860)
571:" (1857)
564:) (1855)
536:" (1842)
529:" (1841)
522:" (1841)
515:" (1841)
508:" (1838)
501:" (1820)
480:Kavanagh
472:Hyperion
53:Overview
784:Related
639:(uncle)
467:(1830s)
196:In his
66:heart.
35:" is a
630:Family
579:(1858)
552:(1847)
491:Poetry
483:(1849)
475:(1839)
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295:
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657:(son)
456:Prose
117:about
59:Alice
355:ISBN
334:ISBN
313:ISBN
293:ISBN
273:ISBN
131:Poem
37:poem
121:for
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
