I Remember, I Remember
Thomas Hood
1799 to 1845
I remember, I remember,
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon,
Nor brought too long a day,
But now, I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away!
I remember, I remember,
The roses, red and white,
The vi'lets, and the lily-cups,
Those flowers made of light!
The lilacs where the robin built,
And where my brother set
The laburnum on his birthday,—
The tree is living yet!
I remember, I remember,
Where I was used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then,
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow!
I remember, I remember,
The fir trees dark and high;
I used to think their slender tops
Were close against the sky:
It was a childish ignorance,
But now 'tis little joy
To know I'm farther off from heav'n
Than when I was a boy.
Thomas Hood's I Remember, I Remember
Introduction
Thomas Hood's poignant poem "I Remember, I Remember" stands as a masterful exploration of memory, nostalgia, and the bittersweet nature of human existence. Through its deceptively simple structure and evocative imagery, Hood crafts a complex meditation on the passage of time and the loss of innocence. This essay will delve into the multifaceted layers of Hood's work, examining its formal elements, thematic richness, and place within the broader context of Romantic poetry.
Structure and Form
Hood employs a consistent structure throughout the poem, with four eight-line stanzas, each beginning with the titular refrain "I remember, I remember." This repetition serves multiple purposes: it establishes a rhythmic cadence that mimics the ebb and flow of memory, creates a sense of incantation or ritual, and emphasizes the obsessive nature of the speaker's reminiscence. The use of alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter lines creates a lilting, song-like quality that further enhances the poem's nostalgic tone.
The rhyme scheme (ABCBDEFE) is intricate yet unobtrusive, allowing for a natural flow of language while subtly reinforcing the poem's musicality. This delicate balance between formal structure and emotional resonance is characteristic of Hood's craftsmanship, demonstrating his ability to meld technical precision with genuine pathos.
Imagery and Sensory Detail
Hood's poem is replete with vivid, sensory-rich imagery that brings the speaker's childhood memories to life. The first stanza introduces the central image of the house, with its "little window where the sun / Came peeping in at morn." This personification of the sun as a gentle, curious presence establishes a tone of warmth and security that will be gradually undermined as the poem progresses.
The second stanza bursts with floral imagery, creating a vibrant tableau of childhood wonder. The "roses, red and white," "vi'lets," and "lily-cups" are not merely observed but transformed into "flowers made of light," suggesting a quasi-magical quality to the remembered scene. The mention of specific trees - the lilacs, the laburnum - grounds these ethereal images in concrete detail, lending authenticity to the speaker's recollections.
In the third stanza, Hood shifts to more kinetic imagery, evoking the physical sensations of childhood. The act of swinging is linked to the freedom of "swallows on the wing," creating a powerful metaphor for the lightness and joy of youth. The contrast between the speaker's past "spirit [that] flew in feathers" and the present "heavy" state is particularly poignant, emphasizing the weight of adult consciousness.
The final stanza returns to the visual, with the image of "fir trees dark and high" serving as a bridge between earthly experience and celestial aspiration. The perceived proximity of the treetops to the sky becomes a potent symbol for the child's sense of limitless possibility, now lost to the adult speaker.
Themes and Interpretation
At its core, "I Remember, I Remember" is an elegy for lost innocence and the irrecoverable nature of childhood. The poem's structure, moving from the safety of home to the expansive outdoors and finally to a contemplation of heaven, mirrors the journey from infancy to adulthood, with its attendant disillusionment.
The repetition of "I remember" takes on an increasingly plaintive tone as the poem progresses, transforming from a simple statement of fact to a kind of lament. This shift is particularly evident in the first stanza's concluding lines, where the speaker wishes that the night "Had borne my breath away!" This startling expression of a death wish introduces a dark undercurrent that runs throughout the poem, suggesting that the pain of remembering outweighs the joy of the memories themselves.
Hood explores the theme of perception versus reality throughout the work. The child's view of the world - where flowers seem made of light and treetops touch the sky - is contrasted with the adult's more prosaic understanding. This juxtaposition reaches its apex in the final stanza, where childish belief is explicitly labeled as "ignorance." However, Hood complicates this dichotomy by suggesting that knowledge brings "little joy," implying that there is value in the child's imaginative engagement with the world that is lost in adulthood.
The poem also grapples with the concept of time and its inexorable passage. The present tense intrusions - "The tree is living yet!" and "That is so heavy now" - serve to emphasize the distance between past and present, highlighting the speaker's sense of alienation from his former self. The final lines, with their poignant observation that the speaker is "farther off from heav'n / Than when I was a boy," suggest not only a physical growing away from childhood but a spiritual decline as well.
Literary Context and Influences
"I Remember, I Remember" showcases many hallmarks of Romantic poetry, including its focus on individual experience, reverence for nature, and exploration of the relationship between innocence and experience. Hood's work can be seen as part of a tradition that includes William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight," both of which similarly meditate on the loss of childhood wonder.
However, Hood's poem is distinguished by its underlying current of melancholy and its subtle critique of Romantic idealization. While acknowledging the beauty and vitality of childhood memories, Hood does not shy away from the pain inherent in remembering. This nuanced approach aligns Hood more closely with later Romantic figures like John Keats, whose odes often explore the bittersweet nature of beauty and the passage of time.
Moreover, Hood's precise imagery and careful attention to sound and rhythm prefigure aspects of the aesthetic movement that would flourish later in the 19th century. His ability to evoke complex emotions through seemingly simple descriptions demonstrates a mastery of suggestion that anticipates the work of poets like Christina Rossetti and Alfred Tennyson.
Conclusion
Thomas Hood's "I Remember, I Remember" is a tour de force of lyric poetry, combining formal elegance with profound emotional resonance. Through its deft manipulation of imagery, sound, and structure, the poem creates a complex tapestry of memory and loss that continues to speak to readers across generations. Hood's ability to capture the essential bittersweetness of human experience - the joy of remembering inextricably linked with the pain of what has passed - elevates this work beyond mere nostalgia to a profound meditation on the nature of consciousness and the passage of time.
In its exploration of the tension between past and present, innocence and experience, "I Remember, I Remember" not only exemplifies the concerns of Romantic poetry but also anticipates the psychological complexity of modernist literature. Hood's acknowledgment of the limitations of memory and the potential for self-deception in nostalgia adds a layer of sophistication to the poem that rewards repeated reading and analysis.
Ultimately, "I Remember, I Remember" stands as a testament to the power of poetry to articulate the ineffable aspects of human experience. In its exquisite rendering of personal memory, Hood has created a work that paradoxically becomes universal, inviting readers to reflect on their own journeys from the perceived paradise of childhood to the complex realities of adult life. It is this combination of personal intimacy and universal relevance that ensures Hood's poem will continue to resonate with readers and scholars alike, cementing its place in the canon of English literature.