The Open Window
The old house by the lindensStood silent in the shade,And on the gravelled pathwayThe light and shadow played.
I saw the nursery windowsWide open to the air;But the faces of the children,They were no longer there.
The large Newfoundland house-dogWas standing by the door;He looked for his little playmates,Who would return no more.
They walked not under the lindens,They played not in the hall;But shadow, and silence, and sadnessWere hanging over all.
The birds sang in the branches,With sweet, familiar tone;But the voices of the childrenWill be heard in dreams alone!
And the boy that walked beside me,He could not understandWhy closer in mine, ah! closer,I pressed his warm, soft hand!
Words in this poem
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- nursery n.
- The act of nursing. [Cf. F. nourricerie.]
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- closer n.
- One who, or that which, closes; specifically, a boot closer. See under Boot.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Open Window is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Open Window, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/the-open-window.html, id L17569.
Form and metre
The Open Window is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A lindens · shadeA · pathway · playedA
- 2 -A-A windows · airA · children · thereA
- 3 -A-A dog · doorA · playmates · moreA
- 4 -A-A lindens · hallA · sadness · allA
- 5 -AAA branches · toneA · childrenA · aloneA
- 6 -A-A me · understandA · closer · handA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The old house by the lindens | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Stood silent in the shade, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And on the gravelled pathway | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| The light and shadow played. | 6 | ···/·· |
| I saw the nursery windows | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Wide open to the air; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But the faces of the children, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| They were no longer there. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The large Newfoundland house-dog | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Was standing by the door; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| He looked for his little playmates, | 9 | ··˘··/˘/· |
| Who would return no more. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| They walked not under the lindens, | 9 | ··˘····/˘ |
| They played not in the hall; | 6 | ······ |
| But shadow, and silence, and sadness | 9 | ·/··/˘·/˘ |
| Were hanging over all. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The birds sang in the branches, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With sweet, familiar tone; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| But the voices of the children | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Will be heard in dreams alone! | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And the boy that walked beside me, | 9 | ·····˘˘/· |
| He could not understand | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Why closer in mine, ah! closer, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| I pressed his warm, soft hand! | 6 | ······ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.