There are many different opinions on how a life should be lived, Henry Longfellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life" is a perfect example of that. There is emphasis on making tomorrow better than today and not conforming to the way everyone else lives. Longfellow's philosophy in this poem is to live for today, however, one should be conscious of the future and lead a life that is good and that will inspire others after we are gone. Longfellow has a distinct outlook on life, using a philosophical approach, "A Psalm of Life" is about life as a whole and how its meaning is to live each day as a new day, be original, and to leave something behind that inspires others.
The long-heard saying that tomorrow is a better day plays a major part in this poem.
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One must be the leader their own life and have control and not be lead, directed, or guided by someone else. There is no 'normal' way to live life or certain paths directed by someone else that must be followed. It is easy to conform to what everyone else is doing but in order to live your life as fully as possible you must be able to step away and stand out from the crowd. The article, "Whitman and Longfellow: Two Types of The American Poet" by Angus Fletcher says, "The case I shall make for Longfellow is that in his own way he is extraordinarily original." Longfellow was the type of person who did not follow the way anyone else wrote and he did his own thing, which makes sense that he would the write the quote referenced above about cattle. Leading a life of idleness can hurt you, " For the soul is dead that slumbers," (Longfellow 5). When you do nothing in your life but go with the flow and make no effort to embrace your individuality you slowly begin to lose yourself and kill your own soul. Nothing extraordinary was ever discovered by someone who decided to follow someone else but by someone who ventured off and went where no one else seemed to …show more content…
Considering a philosophical approach, this poem has a positive effect on humans to live a better life. It shows how life is serious yet fragile thing and we only get one shot, one wrong move and it's all gone. In life each day is a new day, and each day can be made better than your last. Knowing who you are and where you want to go in life while making your own path for that to happen instead of being 'dumb cattle' is brave. Living your life to the fullest but not leaving anything behind is like not living at all. These three things are Longfellow's key to living and the meaning of life. At the end of it all life is what you make it, live each day as fully as possible because you never know when it could all
This poem shines importance on going through thing s and how you have to start some place. I found this book very inspirational and it has refreshed my perspective on life. My people that came before me went through so much just so that I could even have to opportunity or ability to read this book and wright a review on my own.
In the end, the poem is looking to show what actions can do in the long run. It teaches us to be very cautious with everything we do since it can affect the people around us. It can have good or bad
	Living is about making choices. The choices people make shape their lives for better or worse. Even the decision not to choose has its effects, often not wanted. But the individual who chooses to make positive choices and to act accordingly is more likely to see his or her life reflect his or her beliefs and desires. Usually the individual who chooses to take action is also willing to face the risks and obstacles that such choices involve.
He regretted all of the opportunities that he had missed and by the time he realized that he never lived his life, it was too late to live it to its fullest. Therefore, life should be lived to its fullest so that when it is over, there are no regrets. So many people have ideas of things they want to do, whether they be business-related, something that scares them or even just asking someone else out on a date. Everyone has ideas about how they want to live their lives, but most people never wind up following through. They are so afraid of failure or of looking bad that they run from any kind of challenge.
On the surface, "life" is a late 19th century poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem illustrates the amount of comfort and somber there is in life. Unfortunately, according to Paul Laurence Dunbar, there is more soberness in life than the joyous moments in our existence. In more detail, Paul Laurence Dunbar demonstrates how without companionship our existence is a series of joys and sorrows in the poem, "Life" through concrete and abstract diction.
Whitman’s approach to poetry is a reflection of his thought. These thoughts are free and wild, and his typical run-on sentences and his endless litanies of people and places represent the thoughts trying to be conveyed. The overall effect of these run-on sentences provides the reader with a feeling of greatness and of freedom. All of the feelings that are evoked from Whitman’s style can be classified as quintessentially American democratic feelings. The belief that Whitman had no style would imply that Americans as a society have no style, a statement that not only Whitman but Emerson and Thoreau as well fought against through their writings. Whitman and Emerson fighting for the same cause is not coincidental, Whitman has often been viewed as the “child” of Emerson, his work being greatly influenced by Emerson. Whitman’s technique of looking at everything as a whole and always opposed to breaking up the whole can be linked to his belief of unity within our country and the reason why he took the Civil War extremely hard and personal.
...ke up and have a better one. The meaning you get from reading this poem is just great. It saying be strong and keep moving because tomorrow is another day to have a great day and not all days will be easy and great but you have to remember that every day is a new one to make it better. This poem is a stanza and the tone is mad but just by reading it anyone can understand why.
enable us to understand the moral of the poem. Which is work hard and you will receive you goals and never give up.
One way Longfellow establishes his message is through the personification of snow and the ship that the skipper was sailing. Personifying the snow that “fell hissing in the brine” (line 23) contributes towards the central theme of the poem. A hissing noise makes the scene seem more deadly and dangerous than people would think it is. It resembles the hidden imminent dangers that are present if people get overconfident. The hissing sound of the snow
In conclusion, humankind is blessed with life as God created it. One must reflect on their actions throughout life because one will be judged by God in the next life, one must see the importance of gasping liberation, and one must have a loving and open heart when helping the poor. Life should be lived to its fullest because once time is lost, it cannot be regained; life needs to be appreciated.
Whitman's radical ideas of individualism have a great deal to do with his Quaker background. The Quaker religion is one in which the authority was Inner Light. "Whitman himself was not only personally familiar with, but deeply impressed by, a religion whose only authority was the Inner Light" (Canoy 481). The Inner Light is a special influence, which made Whitman's poetry unique. This certain influence did such things as guide Whitman down his soul searching path as well as help him define within himself the characteristics of an individual. In section fifteen of "Song of Myself," Whitman discusses people from every class and every profession. He goes on to say "the young fellow drives the express-wagon... love him though I do not know him;" (2753). ...
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life” is an encouraging poem in which Longfellow has utilized many different poetic elements including imagery, rhyme, metaphor, simile and others. The poem is very easy to understand and is engaging to the reader because of the images the poem invokes. Of all of the elements used, imagery is the most consistent and prevalent poetic element in the poem “A Psalm of Life”. Using imagery, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem describes a life not fully lived, how to live and what a life fully lived looks like.
Although Whitman uses a great deal of structural ways to stress his ideas, he also uses many other ways of delivering his ideas. First of all, Whitman portrays himself as a public spokesman of the masses. The tone of the poem is a very loud, informative tone that grabs ones attention. The emphasis placed on the word “all” adds to the characterization of Whitman as a powerful speaker. Furthermore, Whitman takes part in his own poem. Participating in his own poem, Whitman moreover illustrates the connection between everything in life. Lastly, Whitman, most of all, celebrates universal brotherhood and democracy.
However, once he hit his second stanza was written the message of encouragement allowed itself to flourish, and gave way to a splendid involving poem. Throughout the poem the words dark, dreary, wind, weary and day were used repeatedly, this is an obvious choice of words to lend to the ear of the reader to give them a thought of his own visions of melancholy existence. But also at the end you can tell where his thoughts began to liven and his small but reoccurring voice of reason and hope chimed in to relieve the poem of encapsulating despair, the mention of past memories in the second stanza mimics that of the third line in the first stanza that talks of clinging vines, and is an accompaniment to the already established emotion. Longfellow’s The Rainy Day compared to other authors or even Longfellow’s own works; may be a shorter, less complicated poem, but what it has is a simple, pure and I dare to say it; raw feeling of time, place and
When analyzing the poem, “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes, at first glance, it may seem like a short and simple poem about life. The poem is much more complex. The poem is about the obstacles that some people face in life and how to find the strength to persevere. This poem helps the reader appreciate life and encourages us to triumph over the most emotionally challenging obstacles rather than considering death as a solution. The character in the poem, although weak and confused at first, finds the strength to deal with the issues he is struggling with and comes to appreciate life, rather than turning to a tragic way out. The character makes a half-hearted attempt to take his life twice during the short poem because of the emotional pain of lost love, but fortunately, finds reasons why he shouldn’t. The character, although very confused, sees that there is good in his life and realizes that his lost love is not worth giving his life up for. Hughes had a tough childhood, being raised mostly by his grandmother. His poem “Life is Fine” very possibly was close to his heart considering he may have faced some of the same struggles he wrote of in his poems. Hughes has written other works such as biographies and short stories about life and its experiences and his works are valuable to readers in their lives as well (Norris). Throughout this poem, the character continuously tries to take their life but cannot do so because there are clearly more reasons to live than to die. This poem echoes the thoughts that people have about death when things get difficult and how they consider turning to death as the answer. Learning to deal with obstacles and appreciate every moment is a valuable skill in life. This poem is an inspiration...