"The Barefoot Boy" is a poem written by American

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

poet

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

. The poem was first published in ''

The Little Pilgrim ''The Little Pilgrim'' (1853–1869) was a monthly children’s magazine, published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Leander K. Lippincott, and edited by his wife, Sara Jane Lippincott, working under the pseudonym Grace Greenwood. The magazine ...

'' in January 1855.

Overview

The poem is about a barefoot boy who is both innocent and connected to nature. Nature and innocence are both compared to the world of adults, in which adults have to try to stand out in endless struggles to stand out. The boy is barefoot because the shoes are used to symbolize being further away from nature. In one of the verses, a man is referred to as a republican while the boy is referred to as a prince. The poet explains that the man has money while the boy has the world of learning. The poem celebrates a humble, plain person, much as Whittier's contemporary

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

does in his earlier poem "

The Village Blacksmith "The Village Blacksmith" is a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1840. The poem describes a local blacksmith and his daily life. The blacksmith serves as a role model who balances his job with the role he plays with his family ...

". Modern scholar Karen L. Kilcup notes that "The Barefoot Boy" confirmed Whittier as a poet interested in idyllic rural life. Angela Sorby notes the poem is "a late-romantic dialogue between a corrupted adult speaker and his uncorrupted younger self".

Reception

Cornelius Conway Felton Cornelius Conway Felton (November 6, 1807 – February 26, 1862) was an American educator. He was regent of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as professor of Greek literature and president of Harvard University. Early life Felton was born in ...

, a Greek professor at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, was personally moved by the poem. As he wrote in a letter to Whittier dated June 26, 1856, "The sensations and memories it called up were delicious as a shower in summer afternoon; and I forgot the intervening years, forgot Latin and Greek — forgot boots and shoes and long-tailed and broad-tailed coats — and revelled again in the days and delights of jacket-hood, torn hat-hood and barefoot-hood."

References

External links

The Barefoot Boy
at ''John Greenleaf Whittier: Essex County's Famous Son'',

North Shore Community College North Shore Community College is a public community college in Massachusetts with campuses in Danvers, and Lynn. The college offers over 80 associate degree and certificate programs to approximately 10,000 students a year from the 26 cities and ...

Illustrations
by

Eastman Johnson Jonathan Eastman Johnson (July 29, 1824 – April 5, 1906) was an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, with his name inscribed at its entrance. He was best known for his genre paintings, paintings of ...

, The Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Barefoot Boy American poems