TO MY FATHER ON HIS BIRTHDAY

To My Father on His Birthday
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Amidst the days of pleasant mirth,
That throw their halo round our earth;
Amidst the tender thoughts that rise
To call bright tears to happy eyes;
Amidst the silken words that move
To syllable the names we love;
There glides no day of gentle bliss…

More soothing to the heart than this!
No thoughts of fondness e’er appear
More fond, than those I write of here!
No name can e’er on tablet shine,
My father! more beloved than thine!
’Tis sweet, adown the shady past,
A lingering look of love to cast—
Back th’ enchanted world to call,
That beamed around us first of all;
And walk with Memory fondly o’er
The paths where Hope had been before—
Sweet to receive the sylphic sound
That breathes in tenderness around,
Repeating to the listening ear
The names that made our childhood dear—
For parted Joy, like Echo, kind,
Will leave her dulcet voice behind,
To tell, amidst the magic air,
How oft she smiled and lingered there.

The paths where Hope had been before—
Sweet to receive the sylphic sound
That breathes in tenderness around,
Repeating to the listening ear
The names that made our childhood dear—
For parted Joy, like Echo, kind,
Will leave her dulcet voice behind,
To tell, amidst the magic air,
How oft she smiled and lingered there.

Main Point
The daughter is reflecting on the tender thoughts that she had experienced with her father.

Literal and figurative meaning of the title:
Literal- the daughter is celebrating the bittersweet memories of the days she had with her father
Figurative- the happy times are like a gift to the father of the daughter

Untitled Slide

The speaker? A daughter
What's happening? The girl is reflecting on her childhood
Tone of voice?- Bittersweet

LITERARY DEVICES

• Simile- "For parted Joy, like Echo, kind"
• End rhyme is used throughout the poem

JACQUELYN GIANNELLI B1