Analysis Of The Tide Rises Tide Falls

Natalie Myren
Ms. Jones
PDP American Literature/ Period 3
10.6.15
A Progression of Tides

In “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow uses structural elements reflecting the progression of time in order to convey the Romantic tenant of an awe of nature and contribute to the idea that nature is powerful and constant. When recounting how the traveler made his way to the town, Henry stated that the tide “falls,” the curlew “calls,” and once again, the tide “falls.” (1, 2, 5) The consistent rhyming of the “alls” resembles the come & go, cyclical nature of a tide, rising and falling throughout each stanza as time passes by. The use of a constant rhyme scheme and repetition of the “alls” sound contributes to Longfellow’s idea that nature is continuous in that even when the plot of the tale is changing, and what can seem like major
The idea that nature is constant adds to how powerful and awe-inspiring nature is because it makes human lives seem meaningless, unimportant, short, and also gives us a reason to pay closer attention to itself for it’s been around so much longer than mankind. Longfellow also begins and ends his poem in a similar manner by describing how “the tide rises” and “the tide falls.” (1, 15) The repetition of “the tide rises, the tide falls” conveys the idea that nature is continous and isn’t affected by mankind, as well as makes the readers feel as if anything they had ever hoped to accomplish will have absolutely no impact on their surroundings and the future. The use of the repetition contributes to the idea that nature is powerful because it shows how mankind is the lesser of the two since the poem always returns to nature (rather than man), and also contributes to the awe of nature by