Old familiar faces - Charles Lamb

Old familiar faces

- Charles Lamb

I have had playmates, I have had companions,

In my days of childhood, in my joyful school-days,

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

I have been laughing, I have been carousing,

Drinking late, sitting late, with my bosom cronies,

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

I loved a love once, fairest among women;

Closed are her doors on me, I must not see her —

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

I have a friend, a kinder friend has no man;

Like an ingrate, I left my friend abruptly;

Left him, to muse on the old familiar faces.

Ghost-like, I paced round the haunts of my childhood.

Earth seemed a desert I was bound to traverse,

Seeking to find the old familiar faces.

Friend of my bosom, thou more than a brother,

Why wert not thou born in my father's dwelling?

So might we talk of the old familiar faces —

How some they have died, and some they have left me,

And some are taken from me; all are departed;

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

        In the poem, Charles Lamb has presented the relationships among humans and their results. He is being nostalgic and recalling his memories with his friends, beloved and people who were close to him.

        In the first stanza, the poet has recalled his school days, playmates and companions. He is recalling his childhood and joyful days and also feels pain because all those days are gone, and now there is not any familiar face around him.

       In the second stanza, he talks about his friends when he was young. They all used to enjoy their life, as poet says,

"I have been carousing, drinking late, sitting late, with my bosom cronies"

       In the third stanza, the poet talks about his lost beloved. Post says that she was the most beautiful women,

"Fairest among women"

But she denied continuing the relationship with poet as poet says,

"Closed are her doors on me"

And post has also lost his love of life in this world.

      In the fourth stanza post talks about his best friend and said that he left him 'abruptly' which suggests that may be the friend has died suddenly and now poet cannot meet him.

      In the fifth stanza, poet has presented his condition that he is wandering all around and trying to find the old familiar faces. All the memories are haunting him. And he is all alone on this earth because there are no familiar faces.

      In the sixth stanza, the poet asks his friend that if he is like brother for him then why he has not taken birth from the parents of poet, if they were having same brothers, then they would be able to live together all the time.

      In the last stanza, poet concludes by saying that some of them have died, and some of them have left the poet, some of them have been taken away by God or people and at last all the familiar faces have departed.

       In the poem the poet has presented the view point of having attachment and love for other people and how he has failed to keep everyone with him. He is regretting as well as feeling lost because of these departures.