I shot an arrow into the air; It Fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.
I breathed a Song into the air; It fell to earth, I knew not where; For who has sight so keen and strong That it can follow the flight of Song?
Long, long afterwards, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend.
Discussion: 1. What became of the arrow? Of the song? 2. Where was the arrow found? When? 3. Where was the Song found? 4. Point out lines that rime. 5. What is Longfellow's purpose in this poem? 6. Why is the poet's song compared to the flight of an arrow? 7. A poet once said, "Let me make the Songs of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws." What did he mean? 8. What was the Song doing "in the heart of a friend"?
Between the dark and the daylight, When the night is beginning to lower, Comes a pause in the day's occupations, That is known as the Children's Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me The patter of little feet, The Sound of a door that is opened, And voices soft and sweet.
From my study I See in the lamplight, Descending the broad hall stair, Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra. And Edith with golden hair.
A whisper, and then a silence; Yet I know by their merry eyes They are plotting and planning together To take me by surprise.
A sudden rush from the stairway, A sudden raid from the hall! By three doors left unguarded They enter my castle wall!
They climb up into my turret O'er the arms and back of my chair; If I try to escape, they surround me; They seem to be everywhere.
They almost devour me with kisses; Their arms about me entwine; Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!
Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti, Because you have scaled the wall, Such an old mustache as I am Is not a match for you all?
I have you fast in my fortress, And will not let you depart, gut put you down into the dungeon in the round-tower of my heart.
And there will I keep you forever, Yes, forever and a day, Till the walls shall crumble to ruin, And molder in dust away!
Discussion. 1. What is the time "Between the dark and the daylight" usually called? 2. What do you suppose Longfellow had been doing in his study before the children came down to him? 3. What reasons can you give for the "pause in the day's occupations"? 4. Who were the children whom the poet saw "Descending the broad hall stair" to enter his "castle wall"? 5. What were these children whispering about? 6. What does Longfellow mean by his "turret"? 7. To what does he compare the rush made by the children? 8. What wall did they scale in order to reach him? 9. Where does Longfellow say he will put the children now that he has captured them? 10. Which stanza of this poem do you like best? 11. Tell what you know about the life of Longfellow. 12. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: raid; match. 13. Pronounce: lower; banditti; dungeon.