Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dora Greenwell’s "Little Girl’s Lament" is a poignant and tender expression of grief from the perspective of a child who is grappling with the loss of her father. Through the innocence and sincerity of the child’s voice, Greenwell captures the deep sense of confusion, sadness, and longing that accompanies death, particularly for a young person who is still trying to understand the concept of heaven and the permanence of separation. The poem gently explores themes of loss, love, faith, and the difficulty of reconciling the realities of death with the child';s hope for reunion.

The opening lines immediately convey the child';s confusion and yearning: "Is Heaven a long way off, Mother? / I watch through all the day / To see my Father coming back, / And meet him on the way." The repetition of "I watch" emphasizes the child';s tireless hope and anticipation, despite the painful reality that her father will not return. The question, "Is Heaven a long way off?" reflects the child’s struggle to comprehend where her father has gone and why he hasn’t come back. In the child’s mind, Heaven is a place that feels physically distant, yet she still holds onto the belief that her father might come back if she waits long enough.

The child’s recollection of past memories with her father heightens the emotional weight of the poem: "Then I used to put my hand in his, / And cared not more to play; / But I never meet him coming / However long I stay." These memories of walking hand-in-hand with her father underscore the depth of their bond. The act of holding hands, a simple yet profound gesture of comfort and connection, symbolizes the child';s emotional reliance on her father. The fact that she waits "however long" and never sees him return accentuates the painful absence in her life, highlighting her sense of abandonment and confusion.

As the child reflects on her mother’s explanations about her father’s departure—"And you tell me he';s in Heaven, and far, / Far happier than we"—there is an undercurrent of disbelief. The child struggles to reconcile the idea that her father is happier without them, which seems to contradict the care and love he showed when he was alive. Her questions, "How can that be?" and "He never left us for a day... / But the best of all that Father saw, / He brought for us to share," express her bewilderment. In her mind, her father’s happiness was always intertwined with his family, and the idea that he could be happier without them feels incomprehensible. This reflects the child’s pure, innocent understanding of love and togetherness, where physical presence and shared experiences are the ultimate expressions of affection.

The poem takes on a reflective tone as the child recalls her father’s words and actions during his life: "He cared for nothing then but us— / I have heard Father say, / That coming back made worth his while / Sometimes to go away." The child’s recollections serve as a poignant reminder of her father’s love and devotion. Greenwell uses these memories to further emphasize the child’s belief that if her father loved her as much as he did, he would surely return, even from Heaven, to take them with him. This idea that her father might "come back long ago, / To take us with him there" reveals the child';s simple yet profound desire for reunion, as she imagines Heaven not as a place of separation, but as a place where her family could be together again.

As the child reflects on the vastness of Heaven—"He never would be missed from Heaven... / And we—oh! we have missed him here"—the contrast between Heaven’s abundance of angels and the emptiness felt by those left behind is stark. The child’s logic is both innocent and deeply heartbreaking: if Heaven has so many angels, why can’t her father come back to the family that misses him so much? The repetition of "we have missed him" emphasizes the depth of her sorrow and the enduring pain of his absence.

In the final stanzas, the child’s grief becomes even more pronounced as she recalls the last moments with her father: "When you raised me to the bed, Mother, / And I kissed him on the cheek, / His cheek was pale and very cold." The description of her father’s cold cheek and weak voice highlights the finality of death, yet the child still clings to his parting words—"we should meet again"—as a promise of eventual reunion. The child’s earnest attempts to be good, as instructed by her father, reveal her desire to fulfill his last wishes and to one day see him again. This reflects the way children often internalize loss, feeling that their behavior might somehow affect the possibility of reunion with the deceased.

The concluding lines of the poem are especially poignant as the child expresses a bittersweet wish: "Oh! that God had not loved him so! / For then he might have stayed." The child, struggling to understand why good people are taken away, wishes that her father had not been so virtuous, believing that perhaps then he would have remained with his family. The child’s lament that they have been "left behind" while her father has gone on to Heaven reflects the deep sense of separation and the emotional void left in his absence.

In "Little Girl’s Lament," Greenwell poignantly captures the innocence of childhood grief, highlighting the confusion and heartache that accompany the loss of a loved one. Through the child';s voice, the poem explores the difficulty of reconciling love, death, and the promise of Heaven, all while expressing the enduring bond between the child and her father. Greenwell’s delicate handling of the child’s sorrow and her struggle to make sense of her father’s absence lends the poem a powerful emotional resonance, making it a timeless reflection on love, loss, and the hope for reunion beyond death.

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