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Poetry · Chapter

Hide and Seek explained

A nostalgic poem reflecting on a game of hide and seek with a child, now grown and gone, yet the speaker holds onto hope that love endures and they will be reunited.

What happens

A nostalgic poem reflecting on a game of hide and seek with a child, now grown and gone, yet the speaker holds onto hope that love endures and they will be reunited.

Themes in this chapter

  • Grief and Memory

    The speaker mourns the loss of the child and clings to memories of their game.

  • Love and Sacrifice

    Love is portrayed as enduring beyond separation, with the speaker's patient hope.

Characters to notice

  • Unknown

    The speaker who recalls playing hide and seek with a child and now searches for him.

  • Aldrich

    The little boy addressed as 'Barney' and 'my boy,' the lost child of the speaker.

Key passages

  • “Long ago he left me, long and long ago; Now I wander thro' the world, seeking high and low.”

    It has been many years since he departed; I now travel everywhere in search of him.

    Expresses the speaker's enduring quest for the lost child.

  • “Love may hide itself awhile, but love can never die.”

    Love can remain concealed for a time, but it is eternal.

    Central theme of love's immortality.

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