A
Psalm of Life
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO
THE PSALMIST
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 to-day.
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.
Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow: The Psalm of Life
I have for some
time considered this poem to be my favorite.
It tells eloquently and precisely my philosophy on life. Until recently, however, I have neglected to
appreciate and credited the author with the homage due him.
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow was an incredible man in many respects. In school, we learn of the high honors he
gained, his popularity, his mastery of form and language… Of these things we
have read and are well acquainted with. These are the honors we pay this man.
Moreover, he
surpassed all other poets in popularity. He was the only American poet honored in
the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. He could express with excellence the
common knowledge and feelings that we share of nature, home and family,
religious and moral lessons, and patriotism. But what more was he?
Longfellow was
a man that lived a life that paralleled his teachings. He did not follow the
transcendental ideas of his peers. He
lived a life that honored God and his fellow man. He was a confident man of
originality of thought.
(If I were of a
mind to and possessed the time, I could continue to relate numerous reasons why
I believe Longfellow to be the greatest American poet. However, I will speak forthrightly
the main reasons that I base my partiality.)
The difference
between others of his day and Longfellow is that he based his frame of
reference on the foundations of the Word of God while excelling in the art of
writing. He understood that one must act
“Heart within, and God o’rehead”. Thus,
he produced *“songs
that soothe and heal” the soul of man. No
other American in the Renaissance possessed both the wisdom of life and the
ability to speak it as did Longfellow.
*A quote taken from Walt Whitman
Notes on “The Psalm of Life”:
In the opening stanza the poem rejects the “mournful
numbers” that denounce the meaning and purpose of life. He also introduces a
paradox by stating “the soul is dead that slumbers” and then, in the next
stanza, saying the death didn’t affect the soul. Here he is referring to the attitude
and demeanor of one's being while communicating the immortality of the soul.
In stanza five, he recognizes the brevity of life as a
driving force to accomplish more.
The lines of this poem are short and are frequently
interrupted(“Life is real--life is earnest--“) which emphasizes the meaning of the poem through its
energetic rhythm.
The lasting effect of individual achievements is
highlighted in lines 25-28. How thought-provoking is the line “Footprints in the
sands of time”. The conceit made of time and sand is then figuratively said to
be impressible by the feet of man. Incredible thought…
