Psalm Of Life And The Tide Falls: Poem Analysis

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

In his poem “The Tide Rises The Tide Falls”, we can see the use of personification as nature comforts a traveler facing death. The seashores are busy throughout the day and night. Many people stroll by including a traveler moving in haste. In a place crowded by modern society the tides continues to rise and falls even when it is filled with darkness, leading up to the traveler’s death. With many different kind of people that passes by the nature of the waves Longfellow writes, “The little waves, with their soft white hands,/ Efface the footprints in the sands,/ And the tide rises, and the tide falls” (Longfellow lines 7-10). In this we can see the use of personification as he says that the waves have soft white hands. This shows a gentle and soothing effect in which nature has to clear the footprints off the sands with their hands. Death is inevitable as shown in a relatable cycle with nature where the tide rises and falls, giving a comfort to individual to understand that death is just a process. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poetry reflects his ideal on nature and its comforting

While both Keats and Longfellow often reflect on their own unfulfilled dreams and impending deaths, the poems however contrast on their own dispositions towards death and the future. Here, Keats expresses a fear of not having enough time to accomplish all that he believes he is capable of doing, but as he recognizes the enormity of the world and his own limitations of life, he realizes that his own mortal goals are meaningless in the long run of things. On the other hand, Longfellow speaks of a regret towards his inaction for allowing time to slip away from him in his past and is at a crossroads for the ominous future that looms ahead of him. Through the use of light and dark imagery, and personification, Keats and Longfellow similarly yet also differently, reflect on their own ideas for death and the futures that lay ahead of them.

The poem titled Sea Rose by Hilda Doolittle tells about a rose, but not just a rose like any other. The poem instantly begins by going against the common connotation of a rose, the reader is given this passage “Rose, harsh rose,” (line 1). When the thought of a rose comes to mind the last word used to describe the soft petals and beautiful color would be harsh. H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) wants us to think about this rose as not an ordinary or normal rose but to see it as something more or something less. She goes on to say, “marred and with stint of petals” (line 2). To mar something is to disfigure or impair the quality/appearance of something, in this case a rose. Stint means to have an ungenerous amount; by this line we can understand that H.D. has begun to take a rose something commonly associated with beauty and love and twist into a disfigured and battered depiction of what it once was. The rest of the stanza goes on to say, “meagre flower, thin, sparse of leaf,”. A rose is meant to be a strong symbol of love and beauty, yet the depiction of the rose H.D. is giving the reader goes against the preconceived notions of what a rose should be. H.D.’s language and perception of the rose challenges to the reader to think of the rose as something more.

There are many poets that have been writing some of the most amazing poems in the world for years upon years. Poetry is a great way to write about some of the most meaningful things in one’s life, without directly having to state what you’re trying to say some of the times. A lot of poets write about events within their lives as well as things in everyday life in the lives of everyone in the world. The poems “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and “Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) both use great diction and varying tone in their poems to portray their individual perspectives about life.

Death is a topic that unites all of humanity. While it can be uncomfortable to think about, confronting death in unavoidable. “Dying” addresses that discomfort and universal unwillingness to consider the inevitability of death. Pinsky’s use of imagery, symbolism, and tone create a poetic experience that is like death, something every reader can relate to. In “Dying,” Pinsky describes how people are oblivious and almost uncaring when it comes to the thought of death. Pinsky is trying to convince the reader that they shouldn’t ignore the concept of death because life is shorter than it seems.

The speaker believes that love is hard to come by and that he is sad that he may not encounter it, since death is just around the corner. The speaker then also talks of “unreflecting love,” thus depicting that the speaker has never experienced real love and is unlikely to ever experience it, because he is so worried about death’s fast approach. However, at the end of “When I have Fears,” the speaker reflects that his goals for literary prowess and love are “nothingness” in comparison to the grand scope of things. There is hope after death, and Keats’ narrator finds solace in this. Although he has not achieved everything he had wanted, the speaker is still appreciative of what he was able to do. On the other hand, Longfellow’s speaker in “Mezzo Cammin” takes on a much more sorrowful and negative tone. Using diction of “half of my life,” “years slip,” and “not fulfilled,” Longellow shows that the speaker is really dreading and mourning his day to go. It seems that the speaker’s fear of death completely and irresolutely hinders him from accomplishing any of his goals. He is too busy being pessimistic about his life that he is unable to live in the present. He is also unable to dream into the future. Unlike Keats’ speaker, Longfellow’s speaker is completely stunted in from any possible growth. He is too stuck in the Past and its images of “smoking roof, soft bells, and gleaming lights.” This hazy

His poem emphasizes living in the “present day,” not the past. He writes, “ 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!”(21-24). He is saying to seize each day and not worry about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future. People should act in the present by living life one day at a time. Longfellow also writes, “And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sand of time;”(27-28). He is saying great people leave behind a legacy for others to follow and build on. The sands of time is a metaphor referring to the sand in an hourglass counting time. The footprints are the positive things in a person's life left to impact others. Living life each day to the fullest can allow someone to seize the best from the

The similarities in the poem deal with similar topics expressed throughout the poem dealing with Keats’ and Longfellow’s fear of death. Differences between the two include the structure and the different images, metaphors and diction that they give off along with their different train of thoughts while writing the two poems. Their thoughts of the subject of death are able to relate to a variety of people because everyone is just human and cannot last forever. Just as these two poems show similar ideas can branch off into many different ideas and interpretations. The desire to continue to

The Title to this poem 'At Sea ' is a neutral title and doesn 't give away a lot of the meaning to the poem. It doesn 't necessarily commit to anything specific; it 's just a statement. This is just like the poem. Armitage hasn 't completely stated what the poem is about, there is nothing to say that it is definitely describing someone/something 'At Sea '. However, there are small links that suggest the 'Sea ' is being used metaphorically. I think that the summary of this poem is the story of a family.

What is the meaning of life? Probably one of the biggest questions in human history, yet people still have not come up with one solid answer. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow expresses his beliefs of people’s purpose in life by writing about his own experiences and how he has allowed them to shape him and his writing. Through Longfellow’s poem A Psalm of Life, the emphasis on living life to the fullest is accentuated through his beliefs of being courageous and living life for the sake of doing, rather than for the sake of death.

The infamous poem “A Psalm of Life,” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and chapter 39 of the book of Psalm in the Bible share many similarities as they both give advice on how to live one’s life. However, there are several differences in the two. In “A Psalm of Life,” the author wants to send out the message of not to live life in pursuit of death, but rather embrace every moment of it in pursuit of happiness. Although heaven maybe the ultimate goal in the end, we should all work to live life to the fullest . Life does not end with death, the soul lives on after earth, “Dust thou art, to dust returnest/Was not spoken of the soul.”

The speaker personifies the heart by giving it a necessity to be ready for any fate, implying that people should be accepting of all change “With a heart for any fate”(34). Through analogies and symbols Longfellow establishes the purpose of

Longfellow said “Truest no future Howe’er pleasant”. This line shows the author disbelief in future achievements. He prefers to fight in the present without expecting any future alibi. This writer is projecting a realistic personality about life. He is not willing to see the future in a positive way. Instead, he use his present strength and reasonable though to face his daily problems. He has not faith, dreams or expectation about his future life and he just does things to survive one day at the time. In contrast to the poem “Invictus” by William Henley stated “I am the master of my fate; / I am the captain of my soul.” This statement shows the people decide what their future will be the enormous power of faith. All things that people do in

Life Advice from Longfellow (An Analysis of Longfellow’s Psalm of Life) Buddha once said, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” People sometimes look back on their lives and aren’t always satisfied by what they see there. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration to lead a happy, healthy life such as taking chances and living for the moment.