Summary Of A Psalm Of Life

The poem ‘Life

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.

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.

There are 150 psalms in the Book of Psalms that were written over the span of 800 years. Most of the Psalms written were made to be sung. There are two main genres of Psalms, which are laments and hymns. David is know to have written 73 psalms, Asaph wrote 12, the sons of Korah wrote 11, Solomon wrote 2, Moses wrote 1 and 50 are anonymous . Although 50 were anonymous, David was certainly the author of the majority of the Psalms.

The soul is a non-material substance that somehow has a connection with one’s living body (Weisberg, January 2016). When the body dies, the connection between mind and physical being is broken (Weisberg, January 2016). After death, the body will rot away and parish. However, one’s soul, being a non-material substance, can not be destroyed, and with that, it is possible for a person, rather, a person’s soul and who they are, to live on after death (Weisberg, January

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

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow incorporates religious themes into his poetical work. His religious beliefs were in favor of his Christian faith, unlike others who found all the negative aspects of Catholicism. His poetical works such as "Christus", "The Divine Tragedy" and "The Bells of San Blas" show his positivity toward the Catholic church. In Longfellow 's life, he went through periods of depression as a reaction to his wives ' deaths. During these times of sorrow, Longfellow turned to his faith which helped him move through the mourning process. In Longfellow 's pre-poet days, he served as a priest and went to college attending a religious class. Longfellow took his religion seriously, and expressed his fealty through his work.

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.

I sing of mercy and justice: to you, LORD, I sing praise. I study the way of integrity; when will you come to me? I act with integrity of heart within my royal court. I do not allow into my presence anyone who speaks perversely. Whoever acts shamefully I hate; no such person can be my friend. I shun the devious of heart; the wicked I do not tolerate. Whoever slanders another in secret I reduce to silence. Haughty eyes and arrogant hearts I cannot endure. I look to the faithful of the land; they alone can be my companions. Those who follow the way of integrity, they alone can enter my service. No one who practices deceit can hold a Post in my court. No one who speaks falsely can be among my advisors. Each morning I clear the wicked from the land, and rid the LORD’s city of all evildoers (The New American Bible, Psalm 101.1-8). An important allusion in O Pioneers is the one made to the 101st Psalm. The 101st Psalm is alluded to when Ivar repeats the verse in part five, chapter one. In the verse, David gives his guidelines for living life. This scripture was of the utmost importance in olden times, as many people memorized it and implemented David’s guidelines in their own lives. This scripture expanded on the novel’s theme of Christianity and drew my interest because I have similar views as some of the characters.

Another method for one to grasp the trend of culture would be through analyzing literature. The continual strife within America produced two sets of quite distinct styles of literature. One was Romanticism, which was practiced by many Transcendentalists, who believed in the positivity of life and emphasized progress. In reaction to a surge in optimism, American Gothic was introduced, plagued with death and horror, emphasizing how there were always negative aspects to life. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “A Psalm of Life” is quite resembling of these Romantic values. The work centers around a young man, who denies the claim that life is merely “an empty dream,” or that the soul is long dead. He suggests that life is full of potential and

The attendance of the Lord as shepherd is present throughout the Holy Bible. Whether being accountable of the primary duty of providing animals with sufficient food and water, protecting the sheep, or just plain caring for the sheep like David, the responsibility of the shepherd is making sure every facet of a sheep’s life is taken care of. The rationale of this paper is to give an exposition of Psalm 23, while reflecting on Psalms as a whole, in order to give adequate evidence for arriving at a conclusion that proves the LORD is the only necessity in an individual’s life in regards to the role of a servant.

This poem is a lyric poem because it demonstrates emotion and is meant to inspire feelings and personal thoughts. At first it seems like a normal poem about bells, but it actually has a hidden meaning behind it. The author describes the bells as a symbol of peace and good-will. It was written in reference to the Civil War to demonstrate peace on earth and the poem clearly displays the horrid and bloody conflicts of war. Longfellow used a symbol of Christmas bells to exemplify its inner and outer beauty in contrast to the cruelties of the American Civil War.

Moreover, these poems are set extremely different in their mood. In the poem “Life,” William Cullen Bryant is expressing the positive, bright, colorful, enthusiastic, richness and liveliness in life. His poem states, “OH life! I breathe thee in the breeze, I feel thee bounding in my veins.” He is also expressing the appreciation of God, love, happiness and life in general. The poem stated, “Thou fill’st with joy…The things,

One of the scriptural passages that talks indirectly about abortion is found in Psalm 127 3:5. In the writing, children are referred as a heritage of God and as arrows in the hands of a wariors. The two comparisons are what hold the reason behind the church’s views of abortion. The first comparison tells us that children are a heritage of God. By this it means that children are a gift given by god to parents.

As the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119 is a Psalm of delighting in the Word of God. Psalm 119 is comprised of 176 verses that give adoration to God and the Torah.