Longfellow’s poem A Psalm of Life has inspired people for many years to look at the gift of life and not to take it for granted. In its lines readers can find purpose and guidance. It was written in 1838 and published by the Knickerbocker magazine. They promised him a payment of five dollars but he never received any money. Through time it has become widely known because of its translations into many languages. It holds many American ideals that people have come to live by. He was inspired by a conversation he had with a friend about the soul. Through that conversation the world gained a great piece of literature. Through its stanzas Longfellow’s poem A Psalm of Life uses biblical allusion and other literary mechanics to inspire readers to live, act, and have patience. A Psalm of Life has the power to inspire The poem encourages readers to leave behind a message, because a person’s life can be an example for future generations. Longfellow says “Art is long, and Time is fleeting,”(Longfellow 1012) and “leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time;”(Longfellow 1012) meaning that we don’t leave much behind when we die but our legacy. A legacy can live on for us it is almost like part of our soul that stays behind after death that others can feel its touch. A review of the poem interprets the author’s intentions by stating “H.W Longfellow points out that one has a duty to make this world a better place to live in.”(Trisha 2013) This statement interprets Longfellow’s purpose and makes it people’s duty to better the world. Going back to their actions people can find that the creations they make will be seen by others longer than the hobbies they keep. In Longfellow’s words people can decide that when they are given the gift of life they are also given responsibility to touch the world, which can be like leaving footprints in the
Paul Revere’s great ride through the night to save the americans from the huge british force was a big piece of American history during that time. Many have written about Paul Revere but longfellow doesn't tell the whole story. Longfellow's poem doesn't tell the whole story but Paul’s letter does.
In dire situations, it is common for people to seek moral guidance. William Wordsworth and Paul Laurence Dunbar did this through poetry. The two poems, “London, 1802” and “Douglass,” share a similar underlying cause, sentence formation, and the conditions of their particular country, but differ drastically in tone, use of comparisons, structure, and the author’s goals.
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
In this poem, Wilbur shows that we need to properly grieve death, or it will come back and haunt us. He also shows that you need to forgive yourself for past mistakes, no matter how long ago it was. I really liked this poem, although it was tough to understand at first. Once I understood the general purpose of the poem, I was able to dive deeper to catch the hidden meanings of the poem.
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
Time is endlessly flowing by and its unwanted yet pending arrival of death is noted in the two poems “When I Have Fears,” by John Keats and “Mezzo Cammin,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Keats speaks with no energy; only an elegiac tone of euphoric sounds wondering if his life ends early with his never attained fame. He mentions never finding a “fair creature” (9) of his own, only experiencing unrequited love and feeling a deep loss of youth’s passion. Though melancholy, “Mezzo Cammin,” takes a more conversational tone as Longfellow faces what is commonly known as a midlife crisis. The two poems progressions contrast as Keats blames his sorrow for his lack of expression while Longfellow looks at life’s failures as passions never pursued. In spite of this contrast, both finish with similar references to death. The comparable rhyme and rhythm of both poems shows how both men safely followed a practiced path, never straying for any spontaneous chances. The ending tones evoking death ultimately reveal their indications towards it quickly advancing before accomplish...
Longfellow. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a famous transcendentalist. Longfellow frequently traveled between America and Europe as an adult. Before this, he pursued his formal education at Bowdoin University where he became part of the Peucinian Society an elite literary group. Longfellow also taught as a professor at both Bowdoin and Harvard but wrote most of his poetry while traveling through Europe, especially Scandinavia. “A Gleam of Sunshine” compares someone the narrator loves to nature. Longfellow compares many of the characteristics of nature of God’s miracles. He compares the world around him, especially the sunlight, to miracles from God and the feeling of love, both extremely powerful forces in the universe.The “golden sun” is compared to “the celestial ladder seen/By Jacob in his dream”. His love has a dress “like the lilies”. The poem has many religious allusions, following the transcendentalist model that God was in everything. Longfellow too refers to the world as being beyond what the five senses can capture and shows his connection with nature through this
In Emily Dickinson’s dramatic monolog “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun,” a journey of a spiritual awakening is expressed. Dickinson writes about how a child of God is found then goes out to find other lost souls. Literary Critic Gregory Palmerino indicates “‘My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun’ maybe Dickinson’s most expansive poem if not her magnum opus, yet I do believe there is a discernible meaning – a center – to be found there. That center is her struggle with God” (84). Dickinson develops her poem using sound, symbolism, and figurative language.
Thesis: Lewis uses logic and reason to reach a evidence based “case” for Christianity and the existence of God. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. “A Psalm of Life.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 3 Feb. 2017, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/psalm-life. In the poem “ A Psalm of Life” there is a presumably young man (teenager/ young adult) that is being spoken to by a Psalmist.
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
“I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” This quote, found in Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Peace of Wild Things,” absolutely jumped out at me as my eyes trailed across the text. I have read many, many poems throughout high school and my first years of college, but, none of which have stood out to me, such as this poem did. As I read it, I fell in love with the musicality of the short, simple poem. I adored the directness of it; it was straight to the point, no beating around the bush.
“Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear, and with a manly heart.” This is a saying Longfellow read in Germany where his wife died. The words gave him hope for the future. It inspired him to want to write a series of psalms. The first one, “A Psalm of Life” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is an uplifting poem that compels us to feel hope for the future. After reading it the first time it had a powerful effect on me. Surprisingly, he wrote this poem few months after his first wife died. Longfellow took his wife’s death and interpreted it as a sign to look at life as fleeting and it passes quickly. I feel that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, after his wife’s death, had an optimistic view on life in the poem, “A Psalm of Life”.
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.