When Love Was A Child (Swedish Air.)

By Thomas Moore

Ballad
    When Love was a child, and went idling round,         'Mong flowers the whole summer's day,     One morn in the valley a bower he found,         So sweet, it allured him to stay.     O'erhead, from the trees, hung a garland fair,         A fountain ran darkly beneath;--     'Twas Pleasure had hung up the flowerets there;         Love knew it, and jumped at the wreath.     But Love didn't know--and, at his weak years,         What urchin was likely to know?--     That Sorrow had made of her own salt tears         The fountain that murmured below.     He caught at the wreath--but with too much haste,         As boys when impatient will do--     It fell in those waters of briny taste,         And the flowers were all wet through.     This garland he now wears night and day;         And, tho' it all sunny appears     With Pleasure's own light, each leaf, they say,         Still tastes of the Fountain of Tears.

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Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
This poem explores themes of love, innocence, pleasure, and sorrow, all interwoven in a narrative style. The narrator personifies Love as a child, idling around in a valley, attracted by a sweet bower. The bower represents the allure of love and pleasure, characterized by the garland of flowers hung by "Pleasure". This narrative structure allows the poet to explore love's innocence and naivety, and the eventual realization of sorrow that accompanies it.

The tone is both sweet and melancholic, balancing the innocence of childhood with the bitter reality of experience. The poem suggests that Love, in its youthful haste and ignorance, fails to realize that the beautiful garland is hung over a fountain of tears, symbolizing the sorrows and pains that often come with love. This is conveyed through the effective use of imagery, like the 'garland fair' and the 'fountain that murmured below.'

The poem also employs irony as a literary device. Love is initially attracted to the garland because it is aesthetically pleasing, but the garland falls into the fountain of sorrow, and Love ends up wearing it "night and day". The final line, "Still tastes of the Fountain of Tears", signifies how love and sorrow are ultimately intertwined. This provides a nuanced understanding of the complexities of love, emphasizing that pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin.

Understanding Ballads

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music, that has been a cornerstone of storytelling across various cultures. Traditionally passed down orally, ballads are known for their rhythmic structure and often tell tales of love, adventure, and heroism.

Ballads are characterized by their strong rhythm and repetition, making them both memorable and engaging. Here are some defining features:

  • Narrative Structure: Ballads typically tell a story, often a dramatic or emotional tale that unfolds in a straightforward, chronological order.
  • Quatrain Stanzas: Most ballads are composed of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a rhyme scheme of ABAB or ABCB, which adds to the musicality of the verse.
  • Repetition: Refrains or repeated lines are common in ballads, helping to emphasize key themes or emotions and making the ballad easier to remember.
  • Oral Tradition: Many ballads originated from oral traditions, which means they were passed down through generations by word of mouth before being written down.

From medieval minstrels to contemporary songwriters, ballads have continued to evolve, remaining a beloved form of expression that captures the human experience in a way that is both poetic and accessible.