A PSALM OF LIFE

The Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, subtitled

What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist, is a poem
that was first published in the Knickerbocker Magazine in 1838. The
poem strives to look at the human attitude toward life and death.
The major theme of the poem is that living is not the only thing
humans are put on earth for. While heaven may be the goal at the
end of life, humans are also sent to earth to live productive and
generous lives as well.
In the opening stanza, Longfellow begins by saying Tell me not in
mournful numbers/Life is but an empty dream. With these lines
Longfellow establishes that he does not want to hear from those
who feel that life is only time spent on earth and that there is
nothing after one dies. Longfellow indicates that things may not be
as they seem.
In the second stanza, Longfellow exclaims that life is real and
earnest, but the grave is not its goal. Dust to dust did not refer to
the soul just the physical body. Longfellow believes that the soul
lives on after death.
Longfellow also reiterates that life isnt about joys and sorrows.
Instead, life is about doing some good while on earth so that the
world is left a better place than it is today.
Time is personified as a person with a capital letter, as if it is a
proper noun. Time is described as fleeting, which means that it is
not permanent. Rather, it is something temporary in this world.
Another comparison Longfellow makes is to compare life to a battle
field. From the day people are born until the day they die, they are
leading and participating in wars and battles. Longfellow indicates
that people shouldnt be so caught up in the bivouac of Life that
people fail to live. This indicates that people should not become
complacent with life. Instead, mankind should make the most of
every minute of existence in this world.
One of the greatest verses of the poem lies in the words Lives of
great men all remind us/We can make our lives sublime/And
departing leave behind us/ Footprints on the sands of time. This
stanza points out to the reader that mankind should take as
example all the great men that have come before, who are evidence
that not everyone is forgotten after their life on earth has ended.

Everyone should strive to be like them and leave footprints on

others and the world.
Longfellow leaves the reader with the idea that people should live
life by working through the time on earth to make life a wonderful
place. In the end, mankind must wait to find heaven and toil here
on earth until that day comes.
Written in an ABAB rhyme scheme with 9 quatrains, the poem varies
between 7-8 syllables per line. Longfellow includes some use of
repetition with words such as Life is, Actact and
Footprints. Other sound devices the poet instills include
alliteration is words such as gravegoal, broad battle,
andLearnlabor.
Rich with philosophical grandness the poem Psalm of Life has a
message that is still as relevant today as it did for more than a
century ago. It serves as a reminder to make the most of this time
on earth people call life, because it is a fleeting moment.

"A Psalm of Life", by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was published in October

of 1838. It is a poem of encouragement, telling the reader not to waste life.
Longfellow is sure to establish that life is real, and it will end soon. He wrote
this poem at a fairly young age, yet he has a deep and accurate insight of
life.
The content of the poem is not especially unique. The speaker is involved in
the first person perspective, where he is directly addressing the reader. The
tone is neither positive nor negative, but is strictly honest. The tone remains
the same "encouraging" style from beginning to end, and there is no change
of tone. The only tension found in the poem is that between life and death Longfellow writes about how every living thing is affected by both conflicting
states of being.
The word choice in "A Psalm of Life" was obviously carefully picked. An
adjective is never repeated, yet the poem reads perfectly. Each word has its
own meaning, and its own unique take on life, and every word adds
something important, even vital, to the "life" of the poem. The rhythm also
flows flawlessly. The rhythm scheme is an eight syllable line followed by a
seven syllable line. The poem does not stray from that simple rhythm once.

Imagery is the sole method of expression in the poem. Longfellow paints a

word picture in each stanza that allows the reader to see more clearly what
he is describing. Metaphors and Symbolism is rampant - in fact, the poem is
almost entirely comprised of these things.
The form of the poem is very basic. Each stanza is four lines long, making
the poem a quatrain, and the rhyme scheme follows the pattern "ABAB,
CDCD, EFEF..." etc. for each of the nine stanzas. Each stanza also has a
recurrent rhythm pattern: 8 syllables, 7 syllables, 8 syllables, 7 syllables.
Analyzing the poem even deeper, you will notice that even the punctuation
plays an important role. Exclamation points are used to establish emphasis
on a particular line. There is no pattern to the punctuation, which makes it
even more beneficial to strengthening the meaning of a phrase. Overall, it is
very obvious that "A Psalm of Life" is a well thought out poem.
Life is not full of sadness. It is an empty dream. A dream presents many
pleasant things which vanish as soon as it breaks. Similarly, some pessimistic
people consider life as unreal and empty as dream. If they find any happy
thing, they dont accept and enjoy it. They discard it as unreal too. Such
people are dead in their spirit. They value life in terms of its physical aspect.
But the poet empathetically says that life is real and earnest. It furnishes
great opportunities for bettering ourselves. Grave or death is not the
destination of life. The Bible contains a remark, 'Dust thou art, to dust
returnest'. It is a remark about body. Body vanishes but the soul does not
dissolve. Death cannot trap soul.
Life means to act at present. It is neither for enjoyment nor for to joy and
sorrow. Instead of paying attention to joy and sorrow, we ought to act, we
must not waste time in expecting a more suitable time to come. We should
think that tomorrow is far away from today. Therefore, we must act right from
now.
Death envelopes all- the strong and the weak, the brave and the coward. All
are marching to each others grave. Time runs away and every body of us
are losing our valuable period of life day by day. Life is getting shorter day by
day. In this short period a long art cannot possibly be tried and achieved.
Life is a temporary rest camp. We are all soldiers in the world's broad field of
battle. When we grow tired, we take rest in that rest camp. The poet urges us
to be creative and to be a hero in the battle. We must not surrender. We

must not be driven like dumb cattle. Dumb cattle lack creativity. But we must
be brave enough to face our life's battle.
Further the right time for work is present. Neither future nor past is suitable.
Future may seem very pleasant. But it is not dependable. Similarly, past is
already passed and is buried like a dead body.
Thus we are left with only present. We should act in the living present. In our
heart we must keep faith in God. God will reward us for our work.
While working, we have to follow the footprints of great men in past. By
reading their biography and by following their footprints and examples we
can make our own lives great and sublime. Our own greatness and sublimity
will be recorded as examples for the future generations too. If any person
gets disappointed or fails in his material or spiritual pursuits, he may look at
the examples, set up by us, and may get adequate consolation.
Hope of success is regenerated in him. Instead of being doomed to utter
despair, he feels vibrant with hopes.
Therefore the poet advises us to get rid of sloth and be brave enough to face
any situation in our lives. We must not cease at any; point of time. Pursuits
and achievements must continue. Our endeavour must also continue with
undiminished faith in God.
SUMMARY
A Psalm of Life, a lyric of religious emotion was published in October of
1838. This poem is taken from Henry Wadsworth Longfellows first volume of
poems. A psalm is a sacred song, an invocation to mankind to follow the
path of righteousness. A Psalm of Life is a blow to the pessimistic attitude
of taking life lightly. The poet encourages his readers not to waste life that
life is short and is going to end soon. The poem highlights the views of the
poet about how to live life and that there is only one life and therefore, we
should make a good use of it.
The poem consists of nine stanzas, each containing four lines. The poet
begins the poem by asking us not to tell him in sorrowful verses that life is
an empty, meaningless dream. According to Longfellow, a person who
spends his sleeping is already dead. Such a worthless life misguides other
human beings. Finally, irresponsibility does not reflect the true human
nature.

The second stanza begins with two phrases, Life is real! Life is earnest! The
poet uses an encouraging tone to say that life is real and serious. Life should
not be treated lightly. Moreover, the poet says that death is not the ultimate
goal; life does not end with death. Dust thou art, to dust returnest is not
applicable to the soul, this quotation is applicable only to the body.
The third stanza of A Psalm of Life is about the way of living. The poet tells
us that our way of leaving should be only based on enjoyment or mourning.
The aim of life is to act wisely each day so that we can make a better future.
Stanza four is about the work assigned to us and about the time which is
flying. Art is long, and Time is fleeting means that the work given to us is
too long and time-consuming. The poet encourages that under such
situations, our hearts still remain stout and brave and are beating funeral
marches to the grave, like the drums covered with cloth. The message that
the poet wants to convey through this stanza is that one should lose courage
under any circumstance.
In the fifth stanza, the poet compares the world to a battlefield as well as a
temporary camp for troops. The humans are compared with troops. He asks
all the people to live and fight their battles within the given period of time.
The poet asks us not to be like the dumb cattle which is driven by others,
because of its lack of direction and determination.
The poet asks us not to trust on the future even if it seems pleasant in the
sixth stanza of A Psalm of Life. The past incidents must be forgotten away.
The aim in life should be to act courageously at present and not to lose faith
in God.
Lives of great men remind us that we can make our own lives noble and
elevated that is we can reach great heights. Finally when we die, we can
leave behind us our footprints (noble deeds) for others to follow our path.
The noble deeds which we leave behind should be such that an unhappy and
shipwrecked man, sailing over the sea of life, would be confident and take
courage, following our example.
In the final stanza of A Psalm of Life, the poet asks us to begin at once with
courage without thinking about the consequences of the actions. He asks us
to achieve our aim and learn to work hard and wait patiently for rewards.

A Psalm of Life is well written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem is

very much centered to all his thoughts and clearly advising through his
poem. The poet is showing a different angle to live this life and he is
constantly saying that there is only one life and hence one should make a
good use of it. Therefore he uses appropriate words which can directly attack
anybodys mind. One should know how short this life is and how to make it
more meaningful. There is an inspiration provided in this poem which is very
interesting to understand.
The writer himself has written this poem at fairly young age and thus its
more accurate for all youth audience. This poem tells how to live life happily
without giving up to any of difficulty that can come across your way.
This is really an encouraging poem which tells reader not to waste any part
or little time in life. Poet is very positive and he is constantly saying that this
life is real and it will end shortly. The poet was young when he wrote this
poem; this shows how good thoughts he was carrying at that age. This can
surely encourage youth to think even deeper and change view to see this
life.
The actual theme of the poem is not especially exceptional. The poet is
caught up in the first person point of view, where he is honestly advising the
reader. The manner used in this poem is neither optimistic nor pessimistic;
however it is firmly sincere and truthful.
The overall poem is based on one point and that point is Life. Poet constantly
says that one should not waste time in unimportant tasks which are fruitless
and which will keep a person away from dreams. This life is very meaningful
and it depends on the person to increase the meaning and sense in it. One
should strictly avoid laziness and work for their dreams.
Then, what is life? Why to approach dreams if life is too short? Why to make
good use of time? All these questions get their answer in this poem. The poet
guides youth audience to follow their dreams instead of wasting time in
making fun of others. All unnecessary tasks like sleeping for long hours,
laziness in work and much more are fruitless and will increase the burden of
living at the end of life. Here poet turns to his next point very cleverly. He
then explains about the situations at the end of life.

Images and descriptions are the sole methods of idiom in the poem. Poet
paints a picture of word in each canto that lets the reader to observe more
evidently what he is telling.
The poet is explaining each sentence in his own writing style. Deep meaning
is hidden inside in each of word. The true meaning of life and the small parts
involved in it are wisely revealed in this poem. Life is too short and so what
to wait for? Simply fulfilling dreams and making dreams to come true is only
choice that anybody can have. On the whole, it is very clear that A Psalm of
Life is a well-considered out poem.