The Little Boy Found

The first line of the poem merely contains the subject, rather than an independent clause. This is conveyed through the perspective of a third person, objective speaker. The poem is about “The little boy” (Line 1). The use of the determiner “The” implies that it is not just any boy the speaker refers to; rather, this is a specific boy: a boy who is “lost” (Line 1). “Lost” here serves not as a verb, but as the beginning of a participial phrase (the past participle of a verb and any other words or phrases that modify it). Participial phrases can function as adjectives describing a noun. “Lost in the lonely fen” is therefore the participial phrase modifying “boy” (Line 1). A “fen” is a swamp, marshland, or wetland—not the typical setting one would expect a child to be wandering in alone. The adjective “lonely” heightens the desolate tone conveyed in the first line.

Readers discover in the second line why the boy is “lost” (Line 1). He has been “led,” which implies that he was guided by some force or power rather than making his way with his own agency. “[T]he wandering light” (Line 2) leads the boy. Again, the usage of “the” points to a specific vs. general “light” (Line 2). The word choice at the end of this line is ambivalent. On the one hand, “light” symbolizes positivity, peace, and in religious connotations, refers to God in all his power and grace. However, on the other hand, “wandering” can refer to going astray or deviating from a set path. The question for readers becomes whether this particular “light” is benevolent or malevolent (thought the implication is apparent).

The verb of the sentence which comprises the first two lines of the first stanza is stated in the third line. “The little boy lost” (Line 1)–the subject stated in the opening line—“began to cry” (Line 3). Readers can infer that the source of the boy’s grief is his loneliness and feelings of unease from being led alone into the wetlands. As the boy begins to cry, expressing his hopelessness and despair, the reader may empathize. However, this hopelessness is mollified by the knowledge that “God” is “ever nigh” (Line 3). “Nigh” is synonymous with being close or nearby. Even if the “wandering light” led the boy astray, misrepresenting itself as righteous and good, God is ever-present to help set him at peace. When God appears to the boy, he looks “like his father” (Line 4). Taking on the appearance of a father-figure provides security and assurance for the wayward child. In addition, “God” appears all “in white” (Line 4): a color that embodies purity and peace. Whatever the “wandering light” (Line 2) may have intended for “The little boy lost” (Line 1), it is counteracted by God’s purity and goodness.

The second stanza conveys what happens to the lost boy once God comes to his aid. The father-like figure of God shows parental affection for the boy, as God “kissed the child” and led him “by the hand” (Line 5). The second half of the line has an inverted word order: “and by the hand led” (Line 5). The direct object, who the recipient of the kiss is and who is being led by God, remains the same, and is carried over into the second half of the sentence. This direct object—“the child” (Line 5)—isn’t explicitly restated in the second half of the sentence. Also, the prepositional phrase “by the hand,” relaying “how” God leads the boy, comes before the verb “led” (Line 5) rather than after. Both of these grammatical and syntactical choices on Blake’s part help to shift the emphasis of the poem away from the lost child and more towards God’s saving power.

When God brings the child “to his mother” (Line 6) in the following line, it is a reunification of the nuclear family with father, mother, and child. While God is the boy's spiritual Father, readers can interpret the mother as either the child’s physical and biological mother, or as his spiritual mother (as in Mary, the Mother of God). Having father, mother, and son together brings to mind the Holy Family and the Nativity of Christian texts. This reunification provides the climax of the poem, followed by a sense of closure for the reader.

The focus then shifts once again from God to the experience of the mother while her son was lost. The mother is “pale” from suffering so much “sorrow” (Line 7). With the usage of “pale,” readers can envision the mother’s nearly lifeless, wan complexion. Her face is void of color from fearing what has befallen her son. Thrown into a flashback, readers see the mother wandering “through the lonely dale” (Line 7) looking for her son. The mother's journey parallels the trek of her son. Both wanderings are described as “lonely” (Lines 1 and 7), showing their shared emotional experience though each experience is separate. While the boy follows the “wandering light” (Line 2) through the “fen” (Line 1), the mother searches for her son in a “dale” (Line 7). In contrast to a wetland or marsh setting, a “dale” is a gorge or a valley. By stating the specific, separate settings in which the boy and his mother are located, the speaker points out how distinctly alone and apart they are. The mother is so distraught that she is “weeping” (Line 8) while searching for her child. Even though readers already know the “ending” of the poem—that the mother and son are reunited—the speaker chooses to leave readers with the image of the distraught mother. Rather than a happy ending, readers are not given this satisfaction, and are left in the midst of the mother’s sorrow and disorientation.