Hood’s childhood was a time of great happiness, one which he is well aware that he cannot return to. The poem grapples equally with the idealization of childhood and the sorrow that it must end.
I Remember, I Remember is broken into four equal stanzas of 8 lines. The rhyme scheme is consistent, rhyming with the 2nd & 4th, 6th & 8th lines of each stanza. Hood explores the joys of childhood, with the consistent rhyme evoking this jovial tone to reflect his idyllic reflection.
I Remember, I RememberThomas HoodI remember, I remember, The house where I was born, The little window where the sun Came peeping in at morn; He never came a wink too soon, Nor brought too long a day, But now, I often wish the night Had borne my breath away!
I remember, I remember, The roses, red and white, The vi'lets, and the lily-cups, Those flowers made of light! The lilacs where the robin built, And where my brother set The laburnum on his birthday,— The tree is living yet!
I remember, I remember, Where I was used to swing, And thought the air must rush as fresh To swallows on the wing; My spirit flew in feathers then, That is so heavy now, And summer pools could hardly cool The fever on my brow!
I remember, I remember, The fir trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops Were close against the sky: It was a childish ignorance, But now 'tis little joy To know I'm farther off from heav'n Than when I was a boy.
Explore I Remember, I Remember
- 1 Summary
- 2 Structure and Form
- 3 Literary Devices
- 4 Detailed Analysis
- 5 FAQs
- 6 Similar Poetry
Summary
‘I Remember, I Remember’ by Thomas Hood is focused on the nostalgia of an adult looking back on his childhood.
The speaker remembers the elements that made his younger years magical, such as the house where he was born, the enchanting trees and flowers, and the simple joys like swinging in the air.
Each stanza contrasts these cherished childhood memories with the speaker’s current, more nuanced understanding of the world as an adult.
Structure and Form
‘I Remember, I Remember’ by Thomas Hood is a five-stanza poem that is divided into sets of eight lines, known as octaves. These octaves are very similar in structure. The first line of each stanza is the same, “I remember, I remember” and the lines contain a number of rhymes, following a pattern of ABCBDEFE (with some moments of divergence).
Literary Devices
In this poem, the poet uses a few different literary devices. These include but are not limited to:
- Imagery: Occurs when the poet uses sense-related or sense-triggering images in the poem. For example, “The roses, red and white, / The vi’lets, and the lily-cups.”
- Personification: This is a literary device that occurs when the poet imbues something non-human with human characteristics. For example, “The little window where the sun / Came peeping in at morn.”
- Anaphora: The repetition of phrases, particularly “I remember,” at the beginning of lines or stanzas for emphasis.
Detailed Analysis
Stanza One
Lines 1-5
I remember, I remember,
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon,
The first stanza begins the poem with the anaphoric line, which continues to chime throughout the poem, ‘I Remember, I Remember.’
This line centralizes the poem on the pronoun ‘I.’ By elevating the self, Hood is exposing to the reader an intimate memory, bringing the reader along for his nostalgic journey into childhood. The use of the present tense, ‘remember,’ also helps to create a divide within the poem. Hood is very much stuck in the present. He is ‘remembering’ the past and can never return. This is a point of sorrow for Hood, with him missing the ease of childhood life.
The sun is personified as a force for good within the poem. ‘He’ is presented as a friendly character who seems to do everything to a level of perfection. ‘Never came a wink too soon / Nor brought too long a day’. Even the light within his childhood nostalgia takes on a form of amicable affection.
There is a sense of perfect balance within this first stanza. The equilibrium between ‘day’ and ‘night’ is perfect, with seemingly even the hours of the day being better when Hood was a child. The complete idealization of childhood is evident right down to the balance of day and night. The idolization is obviously exaggerated, but this only shows further how much Hood mourns for his lost childhood.
Lines 6-8
Nor brought too long a day,
But now, I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away!
The stalk change from the idealization of the past against the harsh reality of this being a period not lost is presented within the last two lines of this stanza. The harsh caesura after ‘but now’ breaks the melody of the poem, shattering the illusion. This coincides with the end of the first stanza’s descriptions of childhood. The caesura represents the difference between memory and reality.
The stanza ends with an exclamation from Hood. He wishes that during that idyllic period, he had died so it would have never had to end. The harsh reality of the mourning man is stalked against the foregrounded beauty of childhood. Moreover, the link between the poet’s death and ‘night’ is archetypical to literature. Here, ‘night’ represents death, classic to the symbolism of literature
Stanza Two
I remember, I remember,
The roses, red and white,
The vi’lets, and the lily-cups,
Those flowers made of light!
The lilacs where the robin built,
And where my brother set
The laburnum on his birthday,—
The tree is living yet!
This stanza of‘I Remember, I Remember‘ focuses further on the harmonic era of Hood’s childhood. Hood focuses on two main images: the colors and the flowers of the period. The delicate flowers, seemingly ‘made of light,’ are palpable due to their proceeding adjectives. The focus on ‘red and white’ to describe the array of different flowers gives the reader a sense of the beauty of the natural in this childhood memory.
Yet, the flowers within the poem are also presented as delicate. The presentation of being ‘made of light’ of course elevates the flowers to a beautiful spectacle. But, at the same time, it presents them as fragile and likely to fade or break. There is a fine light between the beauty Hood is thinking about and the reality of his life. Perhaps this polysemic description of the flowers reflects Hood’s own disposition.
He can imagine the flowers and see them, yet they are not real, merely flits of light within his own depressing life. As death is characterized as ‘night’ in the first stanza, perhaps the only thing keeping him from death is the ‘light’ from his memories of childhood, his love for that era driving him to continue.
Whereas the first stanza breaks out from the memory with a harsh caesura, this stanza continues its idolization. ‘The tree is living yet!’ exclamation compounds Hood’s sense of excitement. He sees a living remnant of the past he has lost. The memories associated with the ‘tree’ drive the narrative of the third stanza. Hood finds something palpable that triggers yet more memories of this idyllic period.
Stanza Three
I remember, I remember,
Where I was used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then,
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow!
The perceived lightness of the character Hood presents in this stanza is exemplified through his relation to flying. Hood relates his childhood to a bird, flying freely as he swings on his favorite tree. Word choices such as ‘rush’ and ‘fresh’ present the freedom of the period. Hood has no obligations and is representing his freedom through his association with the lightness with which he flies through the air.
Yet, the subtle shift back to the depressive present is evident through the past ‘flew’. Although still rejoicing in his memories, Hood is acutely aware that this period of his life has now come to an end. ‘Flew’ sets this period of childhood joviality strictly in the past. The sense of freedom he once had has now ended.
There is no harsh break, as there was in the first stanza, to trigger the slip back to the present. Whereas the caesura in stanza 1 showed the stark difference between the two periods. This stanza instead simply just fades, instead of breaks intensely. It is almost as if the memory is quite literally draining out of Hood. The memory slips through his fingers as he is reminded of his current sickness.
Hood evokes a contrast between the lightness of youth and the ‘heavy’ nature of the present. ‘So heavy now’ concisely compounds Hood’s sentiment throughout I Remember, I Remember into three words. He has lost that sense of childhood joy and freedom. ‘Now’ he is stuck, ‘so heavy’ and living only for a nostalgic break into the past. The tragedy in this poem is subtle but continual. Hood mourns for all he no longer is.
Stanza Four
I remember, I remember,
The fir trees dark and high;
I used to think their slender tops
Were close against the sky:
It was a childish ignorance,
But now ’tis little joy
To know I’m farther off from heav’n
Than when I was a boy.
After the depressive nature of the final three lines in stanza 3, the anaphoric first line in stanza 4 now takes on a haunting melancholy. This stanza ends with the sentiment that Hood is depressed to know he has not/is not dying. He wishes he were closer to heaven, indeed, closer to death. If he cannot return to his childhood idyll, he feels like he would rather die.
The bitter melancholy that bubbles under the surface of the poem finally breaks here. This is how Hood feels, and there is nothing he can do about it.
The final rhyme of‘I Remember, I Remember’compounds the general sentiment of the poem; ‘joy’ and ‘boy’ are linked, proving the happiness of childhood. But, considering Hood’s disposition, the rhyme takes on a melancholic tone. Indeed, the two concepts are linked, but they are alien to Hood. He can never return to his childhood, doomed to live in the present.
FAQs
How does the speaker feel about his childhood and adulthood?
The speaker cherishes his childhood as a time of innocence and simplicity but feels that adulthood brings with it a loss of this innocence and a more complicated understanding of life.
What is the tone of the poem?
The tone shifts subtly from one of innocent joy in childhood memories to one of melancholy and a more complex understanding of life in adulthood.
What is the main theme of ‘I Remember, I Remember?’
The main theme of the poem is nostalgia for childhood and the contrasting complexities of adulthood. It explores the emotional journey from the innocence of youth to the more nuanced understanding that comes with growing older.
How does Thomas Hood use nature in this poem?
Nature is used both literally and metaphorically. Elements like flowers, trees, and skies are employed to symbolize different stages and emotions in life.
Similar Poetry
Readers who enjoyed this piece should also consider reading some other Thomas Hood poems. For example:
- ‘Gold!’ – this is a piece about the corrupting nature of gold.
- ‘Sea of Death’ – this poem describes the nature of the sea of death as seen through the eyes of an observer anchored in a boat.
- ‘Silence’ – this poem describes how Silence exists in the world and the places where one can find it.
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