In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poems “A Psalm of life,” and “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls,” they both share a common theme: death. However, they also share a major difference. In “A Psalm of Life,” Longfellow argues that life should not end abruptly at death, whereas in “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls,” he learns to accept death as an inescapable ending to someone’s life.
As a young man, Longfellow argues that life is too good to just end in death. In the first two lines of “A Psalm of Life,” he proclaims: “Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream!” This demonstrates the drive that Longfellow had in order to convince many people that life is not meaningless. In addition, he also felt that life was too plentiful to just end up in …show more content…
For instance, in the poem “A Psalm of Life,” the poet rebukes the concept that death ends your life and its legacy so suddenly: “Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream!” In fact, it seems as though Longfellow has this tone of denial throughout the whole poem,”And the grave is not its goal.” As a young man, Longfellow refused to accept death as the end. However, after having experienced so much loss, the older Longfellow learned to accept death:”The tide rises, the tide falls.” This metaphor illustrates his acceptance of death due to the connection between a person’s life and the waves of the ocean: things don’t last forever. Furthermore, his acceptance of death is portrayed throughout the poem:”And the day returns but nevermore.” This implies that Longfellow had finally learned to receive death near the final years of his life. As demonstrated, Longfellow as a young man and as an elder had completely different opinions on the concept of
As a young man, Longfellow argues that life is too good to just end in death. In the first two lines of “A Psalm of Life,” he proclaims: “Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream!” This demonstrates the drive that Longfellow had in order to convince many people that life is not meaningless. In addition, he also felt that life was too plentiful to just end up in …show more content…
For instance, in the poem “A Psalm of Life,” the poet rebukes the concept that death ends your life and its legacy so suddenly: “Tell me not in mournful numbers, life is but an empty dream!” In fact, it seems as though Longfellow has this tone of denial throughout the whole poem,”And the grave is not its goal.” As a young man, Longfellow refused to accept death as the end. However, after having experienced so much loss, the older Longfellow learned to accept death:”The tide rises, the tide falls.” This metaphor illustrates his acceptance of death due to the connection between a person’s life and the waves of the ocean: things don’t last forever. Furthermore, his acceptance of death is portrayed throughout the poem:”And the day returns but nevermore.” This implies that Longfellow had finally learned to receive death near the final years of his life. As demonstrated, Longfellow as a young man and as an elder had completely different opinions on the concept of