A Child-World

By James Whitcomb Riley

Narrative Poem
    The Child-World - long and long since lost to view -                 A Fairy Paradise! -         How always fair it was and fresh and new -             How every affluent hour heaped heart and eyes                 With treasures of surprise!         Enchantments tangible: The under-brink                 Of dawns that launched the sight         Up seas of gold: The dewdrop on the pink,             With all the green earth in it and blue height                 Of heavens infinite:         The liquid, dripping songs of orchard-birds -                 The wee bass of the bees, -         With lucent deeps of silence afterwards;             The gay, clandestine whisperings of the breeze                 And glad leaves of the trees.                  *             *             *             *             *         O Child-World: After this world - just as when                 I found you first sufficed         My soulmost need - if I found you again,             With all my childish dream so realised,                 I should not be surprised.

Share & Analyze This Poem

Spread the beauty of poetry or dive deeper into analysis

Analyze This Poem

Discover the literary devices, structure, and deeper meaning

Create Image

Transform this poem into a beautiful shareable image

Copy to Clipboard

Save this poem for personal use or sharing offline

Share the Love of Poetry
More Poems
More Narrative Poems
Daily Poem

Poem Details

Language: English
Keywords: Public Domain
Source: Public Domain Collection
Rights/Permissions: Public Domain
Analysis & Notes:
This poem is a nostalgic meditation on the lost innocence of childhood, rendered in a free-verse structure that mirrors the fluidity of memory. The speaker’s voice is wistful and reverent, weaving together vivid imagery of natural beauty golden dawns, dewdrops, singing birds, and rustling leaves to evoke the child’s unspoiled perception of the world. The poem’s lack of strict meter or rhyme creates a dreamlike quality, while the occasional internal rhymes and alliterative phrases (like liquid, dripping songs) lend a musicality that mimics the natural sounds described. The central volta occurs in the final stanza, where the speaker’s longing becomes explicit, expressing a desire to return to this paradise. The poem’s ending, with its quiet certainty, suggests that the child-world’s enchantment persists as an ideal, untouched by time’s erosion. The absence of punctuation in the first stanza’s closing lines mirrors the boundless, unstructured wonder of childhood itself.

Exploring Narrative Poetry

Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often making use of the voices of a narrator and characters as well. Unlike lyric poetry, which focuses on emotions and thoughts, narrative poetry is dedicated to storytelling, weaving tales that captivate readers through plot and character development.

Narrative poems are unique in their ability to combine the depth of storytelling with the expressive qualities of poetry. Here are some defining characteristics:

  • Structured Plot: Narrative poems typically have a clear beginning, middle, and end, following a plot that might involve conflict, climax, and resolution, much like a short story or novel.
  • Character Development: Characters in narrative poems are often well-developed, with distinct voices and personalities that drive the story forward.
  • Descriptive Language: The language used in narrative poetry is vivid and descriptive, painting a clear picture of the scenes and events, while also conveying the emotions and atmosphere of the story.

From ancient epics like "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" to more modern narrative poems, this form continues to engage readers by blending the art of storytelling with the beauty and rhythm of poetry.