Henry Wadsworth Longfellow created a great persona to tell this poem; through his syntax and tone, the speaker sounds like a caring father. Throughout the entire poem, he speaks as though he is in a "fortress," and he is about to be "attacked" by his children. He puts up a fight, but the kids ultimately win. It is their hour of victory - "the Children's Hour.".
In the first stanza, the reader learns that the poem takes place at night. It is roughly the time when people get home from work, eat dinner, and relax. It is also the time when children get ready for bed. No child wants to go to bed though; children want to play. Line two is an example of personification because the night cannot "lower." It is simply getting darker outside.
The second stanza introduces the main character, most likely a father. He is sitting on the main floor of his house, possibly reading a newspaper or trying to take a nap. The house must be quiet because he hears "the patter of little feet," "the sound of a door" being opened, and "voices soft and sweet" coming from the upper floor of his home. The father now knows that his daughters are no longer sleeping.
Stanza three establishes that the man is in his study (line 9). Unbeknownst to the three girls, he sees them "descending the broad hall stair." The girls are up to something; they want to sneak up on their father (lines 13-16). In any group, there will always be opposition. Alice is this opposition because she is grave; she does not want to "attack" her father. Allegra is the opposite of Alice; she wants to have some fun and giggles while coming down the stairs. Her name even stems from the Spanish word alegre, which means "happy." I get the impression that Edith could care less whether she surprises her father; she is just going along with her sisters. Her "golden hair" makes me think that she cares only about her physical beauty - not some scheme to "attack" her father.
