My Lost Youth by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Poetic Structure

Rhyme

Each stanza has the rhyme scheme ofABAABCDDE. The ending word ofeach line of the first stanza, in order,are "town," "sea," "down," "town,""me," "song," "still," "will,""thoughts."

Repetition

The line " 'A boy's will is the wind's will, /And the thoughts of youth are long, longthoughts.' " repeats at the end of eachstanza.

Alliteration

"A boy's will is the wind's will"(Longfellow 35)

Poetic Language

Personification

"A boy's will is thewind's will" (Longfellow8)

Tone is nostalgic

"Are longings wild andvain." (Longfellow 59)

Allusion to the Hesperides, Greek nymphs who represent the "golden lights ofsunsets."

"And islands that were theHesperides" (Longfellow 13)

Poetic Meaning

Setting: A city by the sea, present times

"OFTEN I think of the beautifultown / That is seated by the sea;"(Longfellow 12)

Speaker: The author, Henry WadsworthLongfellow.

"Strange to me now are theforms I meet" (Longfellow 73)

Theme: Although the past is settled andfinsih, it still affects you to the presentday.

"It flutters and murmursstill" (Longfellow 52)

POV: First person

"And my youth comes backto me." (Longfellow 5)