Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life," "The Rainy Day," and "The Children's Hour."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is known for his poetic imagination and diversity. The subjects of his poems range from serious to light-hearted, all written with perfect rhyme and meter. In fact, Cecil Willaims maintains that Longfellow was "not only extraordinarily versatile in his prosody; he was equally venturesome in types of poetry" (Williams). This paper will examine Longfellow's style and techniques in the poems "A Psalm of Life," "The Rainy Day," and "The Children's Hour."
An example of one of a Longfellow's psalms is the poem "A Psalm of Life." Cecil Williams refers to this poem as one of Longfellow's most controversial poem. In fact, he states the poem was "Burlesqued and ridiculed in modern times, it was extravagantly praised when it was published and long afterward" (Williams). It is easy to see why the poem became popular. It revolves around a theme of action as opposed to adopting a "wait and see" attitude about living.
Longfellow's poem, "A Psalm of Life" is inspirational above all things, encouraging us to live because "life is real" (Longfellow 5). Additionally, the poet reminds us that the "grave is not the goal" (6). Instead of dreaming about the future or worrying about the past, we are to "act in the living Present!" (23). In fact, we should "trust no Future" (21) and "Let the dead Past bury its dead" (22). These lines represent urgency coupled with an enthusiasm that is almost contagious.
In this poem Longfellow demonstrates his ability to write lines that flow. And example of this can be seen in the fourth stanza, when the poet says:
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums are beating
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