Remembered Morning

The title of this piece, “Remembered Morning,” establishes what the speaker describes in the stanzas that follow as memory; this fact implies many themes that accompany works concerning the past: nostalgia, regret, and romanticism, for instance. The title, therefore, provides a lens through which to view the speaker’s observations.
The first line, “the axe rings in the wood,” provides an auditory image: the reader imagines the sharp cracking noise of an axe colliding with wood ringing out across the poem’s setting. “Rings” is also an interesting verb to use, as it invokes the rings found within a tree when it is cut open by something like an axe. The description of splitting wood also connects the piece to the pastoral tradition, which often celebrates physical labor and utilizing nature to provide for one’s needs.

Lewis could have used more elaborate words when describing the children’s state, but her description of the children as “laughing” and “wet” evokes a pleasant simplicity that is associated with childhood. The fact that the children come from playing in a river is an idyllic interaction heightens the poem’s connection to the natural world. The line that follows, “And all goes on as it should,” lends to the peaceful, idyllic tone in the poem. For the speaker, everything (“all”) is right in the