English LiteratureICSE Class 9 · I Remember, I Remember – Thomas Hood

I Remember, I Remember (Thomas Hood): Four Memories, Four Contrasts

Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Thomas Hood's I Remember, I Remember, an adult recalls his childhood home: the window where the sun peeped in, the flowers and his brother's laburnum, the swing and the tall fir trees. Each happy memory turns to a sad contrast with the present, showing how innocence and joy have given way to weariness and distance from Heaven.

Understand Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember)

Poem and poet. The poem is a lyric by Thomas Hood (1799 to 1845) of four stanzas of eight lines, each beginning with the refrain "I remember, I remember". The pattern is the same in each: a happy childhood memory, then a turn to the sad present.

Stanza 1. The house where he was born and the little window through which the sun came peeping in at morn. The sun is personified as a friendly visitor, and childhood days were exactly right. The turn: he now often wishes that the night had taken his breath away.

Stanza 2. The garden of roses, violets, lily-cups and lilacs, and "Those flowers made of light!". His brother planted a laburnum on his birthday, and "The tree is living yet!". Nature continues, while human happiness passes.

Stanza 3. The swing, when he felt the air rush as freshly as to swallows. Then his spirit was light as feathers; now it is heavy.

Stanza 4. He thought the tops of the dark fir trees touched the sky, a childish ignorance. As an adult he knows he is farther from Heaven than when he was a boy.

Themes. Nostalgia for childhood; loss of innocence and joy; time and permanence; distance from Heaven.

Devices. Refrain, personification, contrast, simile and imagery of light and nature.

Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember): key facts

Memories: House and sun
Flowers and laburnum
Swing
Fir trees; Four stanzas.
Contrasts: Wishing for death
Tree lives, childhood gone
Light spirit now heavy
Farther from Heaven; One per stanza.
Themes: Nostalgia
Loss of innocence
Time
Distance from Heaven; Choose by the question.
Devices: Refrain
Personification
Contrast
Imagery; Name and effect.

How to answer Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember) questions

Use this for a stanza-based question.

1Identify the stanza and the memory.
2Quote a short line.
3Explain the contrast with the present.
4Name the device and its effect.
5Link to the theme of lost innocence.

Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember) in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Looking at old photos

Suppose a student looks at a photograph of herself on a swing at the age of six and feels both warmth and a small ache that those carefree days are gone.

Which structure of the poem does this match?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

A happy memory comes first.
A sad feeling follows.
Time cannot be reversed.

Answer: It matches the poem's pattern of a happy memory followed by a sad contrast with the present.

Memory hook: Sweet then sad.

Tricks to remember Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

H-F-S-F
House, Flowers, Swing, Fir trees.
Use it when: The four memories.
Happy then sad
Each stanza turns at the end.
Use it when: Structure.
Heavy now
Spirit light as feathers then, heavy now.
Use it when: Stanza 3.

Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember): solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The refrain · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Each stanza begins with:
(a) I remember, I remember (b) Long ago (c) Alas (d) Once upon a time

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Every stanza opens with the refrain "I remember, I remember" (1).

Answer: (a) I remember, I remember.

Example 2: Stanza 1 (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

What does the speaker remember in the first stanza and what is the turn?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

House and window (1)
Sun peeping (1)
Wishes night had taken breath (1).

Answer: He remembers the house where he was born and the sun peeping in at the window in the morning. The turn is that he now often wishes the night had taken his breath away.

Example 3: Laburnum (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

What does the line "The tree is living yet!" suggest in the poem?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Tree survives (1)
Brother planted (1)
Childhood gone (1)
Nature versus human (1).

Answer: The laburnum planted by his brother on his birthday still lives, but the speaker's childhood has gone. Nature endures while human happiness passes, which deepens the sadness of the contrast.

Example 4: Swing stanza (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

How does the swing stanza show the difference between childhood and adulthood?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Swallows image (1)
Light as feathers (1)
Heavy now (1)
Effect (1).

Answer: As a child on the swing, he felt the air rush as freshly as to swallows and his spirit was light as feathers. Now it is heavy. The image of flight contrasts with the weight of adult sorrow.

Example 5: Final stanza (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Explain "farther off from Heaven / Than when I was a boy".

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Fir trees touched sky (1)
Childish ignorance (1)
Adult knowledge (1)
Spiritual distance (1).

Answer: As a boy he thought the fir trees touched the sky and felt close to Heaven. As an adult he knows this was a childish ignorance, yet feels farther from Heaven in a moral and spiritual sense. Knowledge has cost him innocence and nearness to God.

Where students lose marks in Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Ignoring the turn
Only the memory is given.
Wrong working
He remembers the sun.
Right working
He remembers the sun but now wishes the night had taken his breath.
Do this: Include the contrast.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: No device named
Devices are missing.
Wrong working
The tree is alive.
Right working
Contrast: the tree lives, childhood is gone.
Do this: Name the device.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Mixing stanza order
Memories misplaced.
Wrong working
Swing in stanza 1.
Right working
Swing in stanza 3.
Do this: Learn order.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

Give the memory and the contrast for each stanza.
Name the refrain and its effect.
Link to loss of innocence.
Quote short lines.
Give two reasons in opinion answers.

Practice questions on Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
How many stanzas does the poem have?
(a) two (b) three (c) four (d) five
Hint
Count the times the refrain begins a section.
Answer
(c) four.
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Name the four things the speaker remembers. (3 marks)
Hint
One per stanza.
Answer
The house and the morning sun, the flowers and the laburnum, the swing and the fir trees.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How is the sun personified? (3 marks)
Hint
Friendly visitor.
Answer
The sun is shown as a friendly visitor peeping in at the window and never coming too early or making the day too long.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does "Those flowers made of light!" show? (3 marks)
Hint
Imagery.
Answer
It shows how bright and beautiful the flowers appeared to the child, using light as an image of joy.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What is the effect of the refrain? (3 marks)
Hint
Rhythm and nostalgia.
Answer
It begins each stanza with a wistful tone, giving the poem a musical structure and a sense of longing.
Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Is the poem more about nostalgia or about loss? Give two reasons. (4 marks)
Hint
Look at the turns.
Answer
Both appear, but loss is stronger. Each happy memory is followed by a sad turn, ending with the adult feeling farther from Heaven. The nostalgia only makes the loss more painful.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote it?Show answer
Thomas Hood.
2.How many stanzas?Show answer
Four.
3.Who planted the laburnum?Show answer
His brother.
4.What is the refrain?Show answer
I remember, I remember.
5.Which stanza has the swing?Show answer
The third.
6.What does the speaker feel at the end?Show answer
Farther off from Heaven.

Four Memories, Four Contrasts and the Loss of Innocence (I Remember, I Remember): frequently asked questions

Which Class?

ICSE Class IX.

When was it published?

It was published in 1826 in Hood's collection Whims and Oddities.

Is the poem fully quoted?

No; only short phrases are quoted.