The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell

The First Snowfall

In, the poem "The First Snowfall" by James Russell Lowell, I sense that the author was feeling as if something is hurting him. It might be the fact that he lost his first-born child, and now that, that she is buried it hurts him to see snow, thinking of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, where snow falls on her headstone. As he stands looking out his window grieving and in pain, he just stares at the snow fall on the ground, imagining where his first born is buried. Then, lost in thought he hears is other younger daughter Mabel. She asks him "Father, who makes it snow"; he answered "who cares for us here below". And he went back to looking at the window. Then still in thought, he turns around and kisses his daughter, she kisses him back not knowing that, the kiss given to her by her father, was for her deceased sister.

The author James Russell Lowell was born February 22, 1819 in Cambridge, Massachusetts U.S. he started off as an American poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He was also associated with a group named Fireside Poets from New England. Lowell graduated from Harvard Law School in 1838 he was known as a troublemaker, he still got a law degree. After, he published his first collection of poetry in 1841 and married Maria White in 1844, they had many children, though just one made it through their childhood. In addition, they soon became involved in the movement to abolish slavery; Lowell would use his poetry to express how he felt about slavery. (Wagenknecht, Edward. James Russell Lowell: Portrait of Many-Sided Man. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971)

The time period in which this story was written was the 1800's. He must have written a story about mourning for someone's death since his first child Blanche had passed away. He must have felt encouraged to write a story about pain, so whoever reads it could feel better there is someone out there that knows how they feel, and they are not alone.