The Old Familiar Faces

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— 5
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: 10

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 seem'd a desert I was bound to traverse,
Seeking to find the old familiar faces. 15

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— 20
All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

The use of the past perfect tense in the very first line - "I have had playmates, I have
had companions". This creates a nostalgic effect as 'have had', implies that the period
of time within which this 'having' could take place is over and that this poem is being
perceived from a point of remembrance. This leads the reader to believe that the poet
is looking back on his life as an old man who 'has had' these experiences. It has the
effect of invoking a sense of respect for the opinions and ideas of life presented
herein, as the poet has experienced and interpreted them over many years.

In making this the first line it emphasises the idea presented in the title, 'The Old
Familiar Faces', of relationships being the crux of the poem - 'companions' and
'playmates' bearing testament to that fact.

Personally, I feel this poem has a very sombre, depressed mood, emphasised by the
dull-sounding words Lamb uses. For instance, take the constantly repeated phrase -
'All, all are gone'. The language is monosyllabic, but elongated with dull, long-
sounding, vowel sounds repeated in 'All, all'. This takes the reader up, perhaps
invoking hope with, 'All, all', but he absolute nature of the phrase 'are gone', grounds
the reader in the reality of the meaning of 'gone' and is short vowel sound that sharply
contrast that which precedes it.
The following stanza is wanton with the present continuous tense in infinitive, which
indicates that there is a plethora of action as in: "I have been laughing, I have been
carousing,/Drinking late, sitting late, with my bosom cronies",however there is a
sombre element to the first line in that it uses the past continuous, again indicating
that these times are over. The use of the word crony, whose meaning of a longtime
companion, further intensifies the Anguish Lamb's persona feels.'Bosom cronies',an
uncommon phrase, implies the closeness of these friends, ie. to his chest.

The next stanza is to do with the condition of love, where Lamb uses a capitalization
in the phrase, 'loved a Love', exemplifying the intensity of his feelings for his 'Love'.
It could be argued that Lamb wishes to lift the reader with the rhythm of the repetition
of love in a variant derivative with 'loved a Love' after which the phrase 'fairest
among women', whose constitution of a number of polysyllabic words , only to again
vanquish these hopes by contrasting it with monosyllabic words whose meaning is
negative in: "Closed are her doors on me, I must not see her—'. In addition, the use of
the phrase, 'closed are her doors on me', may invoke sexual associations with the point
of penetration.
The use of the words 'must not see' as opposed to 'cannot see', implies that there might
be some parental influence to his relationship, that prevented him from seeing her.
The reason for this is the words 'must not' being prohibitive in nature, and even
sounding short and restrictive.

The next stanza shows a difference in tense, with 'I have a friend', toying with the
reader here, hinting perhaps that some of the old familiar faces has spilled into the
present. It is not to be so.