Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

A PITEOUS PLAINT by Eugene Field

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

Read aloud in ~3 minOpen reading mode →

A two-year-old boy is completely infatuated with his neighbor Martha Clow, who is just one year old and completely oblivious to his affection.

Poet
Eugene Field
Themes
childhood, loneliness, love
The PoemFull text

A PITEOUS PLAINT

Eugene Field

I cannot eat my porridge, I weary of my play; No longer can I sleep at night, No longer romp by day! Though forty pounds was once my weight, I'm shy of thirty now; I pine, I wither and I fade Through love of Martha Clow. As she rolled by this morning I heard the nurse girl say: "She weighs just twenty-seven pounds And she's one year old to-day." I threw a kiss that nestled In the curls upon her brow, But she never turned to thank me-- That bouncing Martha Clow! She ought to know I love her, For I've told her that I do; And I've brought her nuts and apples, And sometimes candy, too! I'd drag her in my little cart If her mother would allow That delicate attention To her daughter, Martha Clow. O Martha! pretty Martha! Will you always be so cold? Will you always be as cruel As you are at one-year-old? Must your two-year-old admirer Pine as hopelessly as now For a fond reciprocation Of his love for Martha Clow? You smile on Bernard Rogers And on little Harry Knott; You play with them at peek-a-boo All in the Waller Lot! Wildly I gnash my new-cut teeth And beat my throbbing brow, When I behold the coquetry Of heartless Martha Clow! I cannot eat my porridge, Nor for my play care I; Upon the floor and porch and lawn My toys neglected lie; But on the air of Halsted street I breathe this solemn vow: "Though _she_ be _false_, _I_ will be true To pretty Martha Clow!"

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A two-year-old boy is completely infatuated with his neighbor Martha Clow, who is just one year old and completely oblivious to his affection. He's lost his appetite, struggles to sleep, and watches in jealousy as she plays peek-a-boo with other boys. Despite her apparent "cruelty," he promises to remain devoted to her forever — which is amusing considering he's only two.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. I cannot eat my porridge, / I weary of my play;

    Editor's note

    Field opens with the classic symptoms of lovesickness — a lost appetite, disinterest in fun, weight loss, and sleeplessness — and presents them in a serious manner. The humor lies in the fact that these dramatic romantic woes are typical of a toddler. The fact that he has dropped from forty pounds to under thirty serves as a dry, humorous metric for measuring heartbreak in terms of baby weight.

  2. As she rolled by this morning / I heard the nurse girl say:

    Editor's note

    Martha is introduced not by walking but by *rolling by* in a pram, subtly reminding us that she’s still an infant. The nurse girl announces—twenty-seven pounds, one year old today—in a tone reminiscent of a society column, giving Martha an oddly glamorous vibe. The narrator blowing a kiss that "nestled in her curls" feels both sweet and a bit absurd.

  3. She ought to know I love her, / For I've told her that I do;

    Editor's note

    The narrator recounts his courtship gifts—nuts, apples, candy—with the pride of a Victorian suitor showing off jewels. The line about taking Martha for a ride in his little cart "if her mother would allow" is the poem's funniest moment: he describes the toy-cart ride as a "delicate attention," a phrase that sounds like something a grown man might say when inviting a lady to the opera.

  4. O Martha! pretty Martha! / Will you always be so cold?

    Editor's note

    This stanza directly addresses the subject in the style of a Romantic ode, featuring a rhetorical question about lasting cruelty. The term "two-year-old admirer" effectively delivers the age gap joke—he is precisely twice her age and views this as a significant difference. The phrase "Pine as hopelessly as now" echoes the language of tragic literary lovers.

  5. You smile on Bernard Rogers / And on little Harry Knott;

    Editor's note

    The rival suitors are referred to with an exaggerated sense of formality, almost like they're attending a fancy ball. "The Waller Lot," which is just a vacant space in the neighborhood, is portrayed as a trendy social spot. The detail about the narrator grinding his "new-cut teeth" is spot on: his teeth are barely coming in, yet he’s using them to express an adult's jealous anger.

  6. I cannot eat my porridge, / Nor for my play care I;

    Editor's note

    Field returns to the opening lines, creating a circular, song-like structure for the poem. The final vow, sworn on the air of Halsted Street—a real street in Chicago that ties the fantasy to everyday life—parodies the serious promises often found in romantic poetry. The italics on *she*, *false*, and *I* echo the dramatic emphasis typical of stage melodramas, enhancing the comic effect.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

Warmly comic throughout, Field uses the full vocabulary of Victorian romantic suffering—pining, withering, fading, solemn vows—and applies it to a two-year-old's crush on a one-year-old. The humor remains kind-hearted; it resonates because the narrator is utterly sincere within his small world. Beneath the jokes, there’s a genuine tenderness, reflecting the affection an adult poet feels when witnessing small children take their emotions very seriously.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Porridge
The uneaten porridge represents the poem's quick reference to lost appetite and disrupted routine — common signs of lovesickness, simplified to fit a toddler's daily life. It appears at both the beginning and the end, framing the entire poem as a continuous complaint.
The little cart
The offer to pull Martha in his cart represents all the grand romantic gestures of adult courtship — carriages, gifts, chivalrous acts. It serves as both a genuine child's toy and a playful take on the Victorian gentleman's attentiveness.
New-cut teeth
Gnashing teeth evokes a strong image of jealous rage, but Field points out they are *new-cut* — baby teeth just emerging. This detail blurs the line between adult emotion and infant biology in one concise phrase.
Halsted Street
A genuine working-class street in Chicago, it grounds the poem's grand romantic promise in the most everyday setting. The contrast between the serious vow and the ordinary location delivers the poem's final humorous jab.
Curls
Martha's curls are the only physical detail mentioned, and they manage to catch the kiss thrown by the narrator. In Victorian romantic poetry, a woman's hair was often seen as an object of adoration; in this case, it belongs to a one-year-old in a pram.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Eugene Field was a newspaper columnist and poet in Chicago who rose to fame during the 1880s and 1890s for his playful verse and children's poems. He penned "A Piteous Plaint" as part of the comic newspaper verse tradition—short, witty, and crafted to entertain readers over their morning coffee. During the Victorian era, popular poetry often embraced the mock-heroic style, combining grand literary forms (like the Romantic ode and melodramatic soliloquy) with trivial topics for comedic effect. Field excelled at this approach. He had a genuine affection for children and created some of the most cherished American lullabies of his time, including "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod." This poem beautifully combines both aspects of his work: it adopts a child's viewpoint to poke fun at adult romantic ideals, resulting in a tone that's warm rather than mocking. The inclusion of specific street names and weights adds a local newspaper's touch, which is likely where it first appeared.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

He directly tells us in the fourth stanza that he is two years old. Martha is one year old, which makes him her "two-year-old admirer" — a detail Field uses to highlight the absurdity of their age difference.

Read next

Poems in the same key

Similar poems

When I Was One and Twenty — A. E. HousmanAnnabel Lee — Edgar Allan PoeThe Passionate Shepherd to His Love — Christopher MarloweI Carry Your Heart with Me — E. E. Cummings

More by Eugene Field

Browse all Eugene Field poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about childhoodPoems about lonelinessPoems about lovePoems about sorrow