PSALM OF LIFE -HW.LONGFELLOW
AUTHOR INTRODUCTION:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and was one of the fireside poets from New England.
Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, which was then still part of Massachusetts. He studied at Bowdoin College and became a professor at Bowdoin and later at Harvard College after spending time in Europe. His first major poetry collections were Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841). He retired from teaching in 1854 to focus on his writing, and he lived the remainder of his life in the Revolutionary War headquarters of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His first wife Mary Potter died in 1835 after a miscarriage. His second wife Frances Appleton died in 1861 after sustaining burns when her dress caught fire. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing poetry for a time and focused on translating works from foreign languages. He died in 1882.
Longfellow wrote many lyric poems known for their musicality and often presenting stories of mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet of his day and had success overseas. He has been criticized by some, however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses.
Some of them are as follows:
1)The arrow and the song.
2)A gleam of sunshine.
3)Autumn.
4)Footsteps of Angels.
5)Children.
POETIC LINES:
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
SUMMARY:
"PSALM OF LIFE" is a poem of advice by "HW Longfellow". The poem is musical and metaphorical. The central theme of the poem is the purpose of life. Psalms are sacred songs. It is a prayer or invocation to god. In this sense, the poem is not a traditional 'psalm'. However, the poet calls it a 'psalm' because it is an invocation to man to view life with a positive and right attitude- to follow the path of righteousness. In the poem, the poet urges man to look upon life as an opportunity to achieve greater heights in life.
" Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal; "
The poet says that our life Human life is not a formless dream. It has a concrete purpose. only the dejected people think that they are not fit to live a peaceful life and grave is not its goal.The poet tells us that life is not unreal. He does not agree with those who hold that life is an empty dream. Life is real and serious. It has a definite aim. It does not mean mere enjoyment or sorrow. It is full of struggles and difficulties. We should face them with courage and zeal. We should work hard to achieve our aim. The young men should be patient and hard working. They should not care for any remuneration.
"Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!"
The poet says that not to waste your time and to do your work so that we can earn happiness. He says that to act at your present time and not to postpone our work for stupid reasons. He also says that the lives of the great men remind us of the benefits of hard work and that men are the great role model for the younger generations."Sailing o’er life’s solemn main"- A traveler who is journeying on the rough seas of life one who is ruined and miserable but on seeing the footprints may take heart, and be inspired to find direction in life.
"Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait".
In the final stanza, the poet says that let us be up (get ready) and start working with a heart (full dedication) without thinking of fate (success or failure).
We should have a belief in ourselves and a goal to achieve. We should be always working hard to pursue the goal. We should have learned to work hard and to keep patience.
ur goals and wait for th
e results ptiently.
