Little_Boy_Blue_by_Eugene_Field

Little Boy Blue By Eugene Field (1850-1895) The poem, Little Boy Blue written by Eugene Field, is about his own son, who died when he was a little boy. Field had eight children. Two died when infants, and the other as a boy. The poems talks about a child’s death after long years, his toys untouched in the same position. The poem is assumed to be about Fields' son who had died. The poem is six four line stanzas, or quatrains in length. The poem includes a rhyming rhythm, imagery, sensory impressions, alliteration, and a possible weak example of a metaphor. It is a narrative that opens describing toys gathering dust on a shelf. “The little toy dog is covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands; “And the little toy soldier was red with rust, And his musket moulds in his hands.” Then the narrator states in flashback, that in the time when the toys were new the Little Boy Blue kissed them goodnight and set the toys on the shelf. Time was when the little dog was new, And the soldier was passing fair; “And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue Kissed them and put them there.” Then the boy said to his toys, “Now, don’t you go till I come,” he said, “And don’t make any noise!” So toddling off to his trundle bed, He dreamt of the pretty toys; Then death comes for the Little Boy Blue in the form of an angle’s song. And as he was dreaming, and angel song Awakened our Little Boy Blue . It is thought that the boy dies in his sleep, leaving his toys alone. The toys remain faithful to him as time passes, waiting for the Little Boy Blue to return. Oh! The years are many, the years are long, But the little toy friends are true! Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand Each in the same old place Awaiting the touch of a little hand, The smile of a little face; The last stanza is written in the perspective of the toys, And they wonder, as waiting the long years through In the dust of that little chair, What has become of our Little Boy Blue, Since he kissed them and put them there. The color blue represents that the child is ailing. Perhaps, he can’t go out of the house to play with other kids. Thus, the little toy soldier and the little toy dog are his only companions. Alliteration is present in every line starting with line one, The little toy dog is covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands…. Imagery is used to reach our emotions, the site of the unused toys gathering dust suggests something is wrong with this scene, something sad is here. The toys gathering dust, the absence of children move us to feel the narrator’s sadness.