Eric Victa Jordan Harmon Justin Sisanachandeng Brianna Tellez A Psalm of Life Eric Victa Jordan Harmon Justin Sisanachandeng Brianna Tellez
Summary “A Psalm of Life” is an inspirational poem that celebrates the gift of life. Longfellow rejects the notion that life is an “empty dream” to be endured or wasted until death. He believes that people should appreciate their life on Earth as precious and real - a time in which they should act to make a spiritual, moral, or intellectual mark on the real world. He urges people not to waste the short time that they have behaving as “dumb, driven cattle” but rather to act as “heroes” amid Earth’s strife.
What does life mean to you individually? Essential Question What does life mean to you individually?
Longfellow was a member of “Fireside Poets”, a group of romantic writers. He was born in Portland, Maine on February 27th, 1807 and died March 24th, 1882. He fathered 5 children and worked as a poetry professor. He studied at Bowdoin college where he later became a professor at as well as Harvard. His first wife died in 1835 after a miscarriage, and his second wife died in 1861 after her dress caught fire. Just like my new mixtape.
Info on “A Psalm of Life” Longfellow wrote the poem shortly after completing lectures on German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and was heavily inspired by him. The poem was first published in The Knickerbocker attributed only to "L." Longfellow was promised five dollars for its publication, though he never received payment.
Poetry- Reading Strategies Read the poem silently to understand the basics meaning Read the poem aloud, paying attention to its patterns of sound. notice the patterns of end rhymes in each stanza. Tap the pattern or rhythm of the poem
Poetry-related vocabulary “A Psalm of Life” is written in four line stanzas, which are a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem. The poem contains stanzas with regular rhyme scheme, which is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line in the poem; as well as regular meter, which is the rhythm established by a poem, meaning that a repeated sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables are shown throughout the poem.
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.
Review Metaphor “Time is fleeting” - by saying this Longfellow is emphasizing to the reader that time actually is not as long as we perceive it to be in the moment but a rather short instance. “Life is but an empty dream” - in this statement Longfellow means that our lives are the product of our own destiny and that we have control over the world.
Thematic Elements “A Psalm of Life” is a lyric of religious emotion. 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 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.
Activity Now, get out a piece of paper and reflect in a short summary how your ideas of self individuality compare to Longfellows
Test Questions Would Longfellow be considered a Realist or a Romantic? What messages, themes, ideas, or images do you get from this poem? Defining the term "Romanticism" describe Longfellow as a romantic poet?