Proof of Blog Access January 24

This blog post is to prove that Team Surreal is competent with the blogging platform.
We responded today in class to the poem The Children's Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longellow.
A copy of the poem can be found at this location.

Team Surreal analyzed the social critique brought on through Wadsworth's words. Our questions included:
1.) What sort of society is set up?
2.) What are the rules? Consequences? Enforcers?
3.) What does the writer seem to like/dislike about society?
4.) What changes, if any, are being advocated?
5.) What pressures are put on the members of society?
6.) How do the members respond?

Our responses, summarized:
1.) Society is simply Papa Longfellow and his three innocent, little girls in their home.
2.) The rules are composed of a typical family structure with the father as the head of the household.
3.) Longfellow cherishes his memories of his little girls and holds them "forever and a day", "fast in my fortress."
4.) The writer is not advocating any change, but is encouraging familial love.
5.) There are pressures for the girls to behave, but the Children's Hour is a time for the girls to unwind and have fun.
6.) The girls respond to their freedom with a childlike sense of playtime.


The poem takes a heavy, emotional turn at the last two stanzas. There is a wistful sense of longing imparted to the reader, leading us to believe this poem was written after the children have grown and Longfellow is recollecting his most cherished thoughts.