SICILIAN LULLABY by Eugene Field: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A parent or caregiver gently sings a bedtime song to a little one, encouraging them to hush, dream, and sleep—always inviting them to return.
The poem
Hush, little one, and fold your hands; The sun hath set, the moon is high; The sea is singing to the sands, And wakeful posies are beguiled By many a fairy lullaby: Hush, little child, my little child! Dream, little one, and in your dreams Float upward from this lowly place,-- Float out on mellow, misty streams To lands where bideth Mary mild, And let her kiss thy little face, You little child, my little child! Sleep, little one, and take thy rest, With angels bending over thee,-- Sleep sweetly on that Father's breast Whom our dear Christ hath reconciled; But stay not there,--come back to me, O little child, my little child!
A parent or caregiver gently sings a bedtime song to a little one, encouraging them to hush, dream, and sleep—always inviting them to return. Each verse guides the child through the different stages of night: calming down, drifting into dreams, and finally resting under God's watchful care, ending with a heartfelt request not to stay away for too long.
Line-by-line
Hush, little one, and fold your hands; / The sun hath set, the moon is high;
Dream, little one, and in your dreams / Float upward from this lowly place,--
Sleep, little one, and take thy rest, / With angels bending over thee,--
Tone & mood
Tender and loving, yet tinged with a subtle anxiety underneath. The poem seems serene at first — with soft rhythms and gentle imagery — but the final stanza exposes a parent's true fear of losing their child, even to heaven. It's a lullaby that cares deeply, making it hard to feel completely at ease.
Symbols & metaphors
- Folded hands — Both a sign of sleep and of prayer. The child is getting ready for rest and for a connection with the divine at the same time.
- Misty streams — The dreaming mind floats between the waking world and something beyond it. The mist blurs the boundary, making it feel gentle and safe instead of scary.
- Mary mild — The Virgin Mary embodies the ideal gentle caregiver — a celestial reflection of the earthly parent who sings a soothing lullaby. Her kiss on the child's face resonates with the love the parent wishes to share.
- Father's breast — God is like a resting place, made accessible through Christ. It evokes a sense of complete safety—yet the speaker tells the child not to linger there, which speaks volumes about the nature of parental love.
- Angels bending over — Heavenly watchers who take the place of a parent during sleep. They also bear a subtle hint of mortality — angels are present at both cradles and deathbeds.
Historical context
Eugene Field wrote this poem in the late 19th century, a time when many American families faced the reality of child mortality. Known as the "poet of childhood," Field experienced the loss of his own children and often reflected on the delicate, invaluable nature of young life. The poem incorporates Catholic imagery — including the Virgin Mary, the Father's breast, and Christ's reconciliation — which resonated with American readers of various denominations at the time. Lullabies have a long-standing tradition of intertwining parental grief with comfort, and Field follows that tradition closely. The Sicilian setting suggested in the title is more about creating an atmosphere than providing specific details, conjuring a warm Mediterranean world filled with sea, moonlight, and deep religious devotion — a dreamlike backdrop for a poem that ultimately explores the universal fear of loving something so small and fragile.
FAQ
Not in any literal sense. Sicily acts as a mood—sun-warmed, Catholic, ancient, and a bit surreal. Field uses it to set the poem apart from everyday American life, giving it a timeless, folk-song feel. The actual setting is just a child's bedside at night.
A parent, likely a mother due to the norms of the time, sings to a young child. The phrase "my little child" is repeated, highlighting the personal connection as the emotional heart of the poem.
This emotional twist elevates the poem beyond just a lullaby. After two stanzas of guiding the child toward heaven — mentioning Mary, God, and angels — the speaker abruptly asks the child to come back. It captures the anxiety any parent experiences while watching a sleeping child: a nagging realization that sleep and death can appear similar, and that love won’t easily relent, even to God.
The poem reads like a lullaby for a living child, but Field experienced the loss of several children, leading her to write numerous poems that explore that grief. The anxiety in the final stanza — a heartfelt plea for the child to return — reflects the heavy awareness that loss can happen. Readers have long debated whether the child is living or if the poem serves as a hidden elegy.
Each stanza adheres to an ABABCB pattern, with the last line consistently concluding with "my little child" as a refrain. This recurring line plays a significant role: it continually brings the poem back to the close, personal bond between the speaker and the child, regardless of how far the imagery may stretch toward the heavens.
It's a reference to the Christian concept of atonement — that Christ's death repaired the bond between humanity and God, allowing us to find peace in God's presence. Field suggests that the child can sleep soundly on God's chest because Christ opened the door to that intimacy for us.
Posies are small flowers. Referring to them as "wakeful" adds a gentle touch of personification — these flowers remain open into the evening. The notion is that even they are being lulled to sleep by fairy lullabies, suggesting that the entire natural world is winding down along with the child. This creates a sense of universality and safety around the child's bedtime.
Both poems explore dreaming and the night sea as a passage into a magical, safe haven. However, 'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod' is playful and concludes on a joyful note, while 'Sicilian Lullaby' carries a darker undertone — its religious imagery and the final plea add a depth that the other poem intentionally sidesteps. Together, they reflect Field's dual emotions about childhood: wonder and dread existing side by side.