The Little Boy Found

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1789

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“The Little Boy Found” consists of two stanzas of four lines each called quatrains. Within each quatrain, the lines follow the same rhyme scheme with the first and third lines not rhyming and the second and fourth lines perfectly rhyming. For example, in the first stanza, the first and third lines end with “fen” and “nigh” while the second and fourth lines rhyme “light” with “white.” In the second stanza, the first and third lines end with “led” and “dale,” while the second and fourth lines rhyme “brought” with “sought.”

As for the poem's meter, the lines consists of both iambic and anapestic feet. In poetry, a “foot” is a unit consisting of a certain number of stressed and unstressed syllables. An iamb consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. An anapest consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. The first line contains two anapests bookended by iambs on either end: “The little boy lost in the lonely fen.” The second and third lines begin with two or three iambs, respectively, but end with an anapest: “Led by the wande-ring light, / Began to cry, but God, ev-er nigh.” The last line of the quatrain is similar to the first in that it contains two anapests.

However, the final line does not end with another iamb as the first does. Rather, it simply ends with the second anapest: “Appeared like his father in white.” The second stanza contains similar features, with lines alternating between iambic and anapestic feet. The usage of the short quatrains, alternating rhymes, and iambic/anapestic feet makes the poem feel almost like a nursery. The “sing-song” quality conveyed through this form makes the poem approachable and relatable for readers. Blake’s spiritual message is therefore more likely to be comprehended by his reading audience.

Alliteration and Assonance

Alliteration is a literary device that refers to the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words closely located to one another within a line. For example, in the first line alliteration occurs with the repetition of the “l” sound: “The little boy lost in the lonely fen.” This carries over into the second line with “led” and “light.”

Assonance is similarly the repetition of sounds, though of vowel sounds within words closely located to one another. One instance of assonance occurs when Blake writes, “Began to cry, but God, ever nigh” (Line 3). Assonance is apparent in the repetition of the long “i” sound in “cry” and “nigh.” Another instance is the repetition of the short “o” sound in “And to his mother brought.” The usage of alliteration and assonance fits with the “nursery rhyme” feeling of the poem. The repetition of similar sounds helps keep readers moving through the poem, keeping up the pace of the text. Alliteration and assonance also help to make the poem memorable for readers and easy to read.

Simile

A simile is a figure of speech where two unlike things are compared using the words “like” or “as.” The sole simile in Blake’s poem appears in the concluding line of the first stanza: “Appeared like his father, in white” (Line 4). The being described here is “God,” who is equated to a father-figure as He saves the lost child from further straying. The use of a simile helps to make the abstract entity of God relatable to both the reader and the lost child. Fathers are known to be the protectors of their families, and equating God to this type of figure helps readers feel and comprehend the security and safety the boy must feel once God comes to him. Also, the reference to God as a father is a trope often used in the Bible, as in the Catholic faith the Trinity is composed of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.