A Psalm of Life

In this poem, the poet represents a highly optimistic point of view of life. The two main
themes portrayed in this poem are life and hope. The poet disapproves of the ideals of
those who consider life miserable, meaningless and waste it. Instead, he asks everybody
to have a set goal and work hard to achieve it. In this way, one will be able to live in the
hearts of people even after one’s death. Throughout the poem, he intends to encourage
the readers and urges them not to let the precious moments of life go in vain. He
instructs them to keep a balance between happiness and sorrows and carve a better
future for themselves and make the best of every day.

Stanza 1
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.

The poem begins with a feeling of despair, the heart of the poet begging for something.
He is asking his readers not to tell him that life is nothing except an empty dream filled
with statistics and melancholy or that it is just as hollow or meaningless as a dream. For
him, the soul of those who slumber i.e. sleep (or in other words those who consider life
as a meaningless dream) is dead. And what such a person may see is not the reality.
These people are pessimists that curse the beauty of Life.

 Allusions: indirect reference of a person, place, thing or idea of a historical,

cultural, political or literary significance. Longfellow has used this device in the
opening line of the poem such as, “Tell me not, in mournful numbers.” Here the
numbers refer to the chapters and sections of the Bible.

Stanza 2
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

The poet tries to convince the readers that life is earnest, intense and that the main
objective of living is not just to die. He has a positive outlook on life and shows that
through his exclamations. According to the poet man came from dust and he will return
to dust. He says that this may be true of the body, but the soul lives on. The soul is
capable of experiencing life.

 Personification: to give human qualities to inanimate subjects. In this stanza, “life”

itself is personified. “The grave is not its goal” implies that the concept of life is a
living thing with goals of its own.
 Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the poem. Henry has
repeated the word “life” to emphasize his feelings about life in the fifth line where it
is stated as, “Life is real! Life is earnest.”

Stanza 3
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

Find us farther than to-day.

The speaker continues his discussion of the purpose or point of life, He does not believe,
nor will he even consider, the possibility that life is made to suffer through. Additionally,
he knows that “enjoyment” is not one’s predetermined destiny. There will be both of
these emotions along the way, but the greatest purpose of life is “to act,” with the intent
of furthering oneself and those around one. Life is not meant to think about one’s joy or
sadness, rather it is to move forward and grow

Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /n/ in
“Not enjoyment, and not sorrow” are an example of alliteration (not)

Stanza 4
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

What men create will live longer than them. In the stanza “art” represents the work done
by man in his life. “Art is long” means that what people make, books, poems, paintings,
will be part of the world even after they’re gone. “Time is fleeting” reinforces the
knowledge that human life is ephemeral. Though we live our lives to the fullest and our
hearts may be strong, every heartbeat is like a drum that is part of a funeral march,
taking us to the grave as we grow older. Every beat means we are ageing, so whatever
we do, death is inevitable.

Stanza 5
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!

He sees living life as a battlefield. He urges us not to let life flow past us, but instead
participate and accomplish something and live fully. A bivouac is a temporary camp used
by soldiers and the use of this shows us, again, that life is temporary. He wants us to not
live blindly, to recognize that we needn’t live like dumb cattle, and can have our
individuality. He urges us to be a hero in the battle, to properly live and not be happy
just surviving or just existing.

Imagery: used to make the readers perceive things with their five senses. Henry has used
visual imagery to conjure mental images such as, “In the world’s broad field of battle”. .
The poet wants us to fully visualize that it will be a struggle, but a struggle that is worth
being a hero for.

Stanza 6

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!

Life is unpredictable, there’s no way for anyone to ever really know what’s to come. So,
trust no future, however positive or good it may seem. Additionally, do not dwell on the
past. Let the past resolve itself and remain there, do not bring it into the present. What
one should do is live in the present. The past must remain where it is, along with
its dead. It should not influence one any more than is necessary. The “living
Present” is what is important because this is where one’s “Heart” is, along
with “God” watching down from “o’erhead.”

The past is personified, as though it is undertaking the action of burying its

dead.

Stanza 7
Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

According to the poet, the story of great men all tells us that we can also make our lives
sublime i.e. awesome. After departing (dying), they have left their footprints
(inspirational stories) on the sand of time (history). Thus are still alive and inspiring the
coming generations

Stanza 8
Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

These footprints that show the way may help someone else who is on the brink of giving
up, or who is directionless. They may see our lives and be inspired to live theirs. Life’s
solemn main refers to an ocean where people may be lost, and the lives we live will
inspire them to live noble/good lives and escape from the gloomy ocean with a new
purpose and vigor for life. A brother may be forlorn (alone) and shipwrecked (sufferer).
The stories of the past heroes will inspire him to give up dejection and begin his journey
towards success again.

Stanza 9
Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

And so, with this knowledge, let us not waste time, and not procrastinate, let us get up
and let us do our work. We should be ready for what fate brings us, yet we should not try
to plan for and achieve a specific fate. Through our readiness, we should still pursue and
accomplish what we can. We should learn to labor without expectation of immediate
results, and hence we should learn to wait as well. We must be patient and work
consistently without worrying about the consequences. We can live rich, fulfilled lives
and still match up to aims and values. Life is not a long waiting game for death. True life
is now, in the present, and not somewhere in the future. The poet advises us to learn to
work and wait for whatever life fate throws at us.

Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /i/ in “Still
achieving, still pursuing”