Poetry · Chapter
Coming Home explained
The chapter is a poem celebrating the chaotic and joyful return of a child to the home after a long absence, contrasting the quiet order of the house during the child's absence with the anticipated mess and noise of their return.
What happens
The chapter is a poem celebrating the chaotic and joyful return of a child to the home after a long absence, contrasting the quiet order of the house during the child's absence with the anticipated mess and noise of their return.
Themes in this chapter
Childhood and Family
The poem centers on the return of a child to the family home, emphasizing the joy and disruption that children bring.
Domestic Life
The poem personifies the house and its contents, highlighting the domestic setting and the impact of family life on the home.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The speaker of the poem, addressing the house and anticipating the child's return.
Key passages
“Prepare for noise, you quiet walls! You floors, get set for heavy falls! Frail dishes, hide away! Get ready for some scratches, stairs! Clean table linen, say your prayers! The kid comes home today!”
The house should brace itself for the loud and messy return of the child, who will cause chaos and damage.
The opening lines set a playful, anticipatory tone for the child's homecoming.
“For three long weeks you’ve been, O House, As noiseless as the well-known mouse, As silent as the tomb. And you’ve stayed neat, with none on hand To track your floors with mud and sand, To muss your ev’ry room.”
During the child's absence, the house has been quiet and tidy, without anyone to dirty the floors or mess up the rooms.
Contrasts the peaceful state of the house while the child was away with the impending disorder.
“The ideal place for work you’ve been, But soon a Bedlam once again, A mess, a wreck. But say, I wonder will it make us mad. No, House, I’ll bet we both are glad The kid comes home today.”
The house has been perfect for work, but soon it will be chaotic and messy again. Yet, the speaker believes both they and the house are happy the child is returning.
Ends with a warm affirmation of the joy the child's presence brings, despite the disorder.