# Hours of Childhood explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis.

## What happens

The poem reflects on the cherished memories of childhood, a time of joy and innocence that stands in contrast to the sorrows of later years. Memory preserves these fleeting pleasures, allowing the speaker to revisit loved ones and happy scenes from the past.

## Themes in this chapter

### Memory and Nostalgia

The entire poem is a meditation on memory, recalling the joys of childhood and the bittersweet longing for days gone by.

## Key lines

> Blest hours of childhood! then, and then alone, Dance we the revels gay round pleasure’s throne.

Blessed hours of childhood are the only time when we freely enjoy happy festivities around pleasure's throne.

_The speaker idealizes childhood as a unique period of pure joy._

> On memory’s page there is a leaf, Bearing a trace of pleasures brief;

In the book of memory, there is a page that holds a record of short-lived pleasures.

_Memory is portrayed as a book preserving fleeting happy moments._

> Each favorite spot, each winding stream, Where we have watched the bright sunbeam, Appears at memory’s magic spell— And joys, to which we bid farewell.

Every beloved place and winding stream where we watched the sunlight comes back to us through memory's magic, along with joys we have said goodbye to.

_The power of memory revives past scenes and emotions._

> When sorrow clouds our after years, And fills our cup with bitter tears; ’Tis then we wait a sigh to ye O by-gone days of memory.

When sadness darkens our later years and fills our lives with bitter tears, it is then that we sigh for you, bygone days of memory.

_In times of adult sorrow, the speaker longs for the lost happiness of childhood._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters/hours-of-childhood
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_20_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_20_se/chapters