Rizmercs9508

The Psalm of Life

By : Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Rizmercs9508

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

• American poet, one of the most popular and celebrated poets of his time. •Born in Portland, Maine (then in Massachusetts).•Longfellow received wide public recognition with his initial volume of verse, Voices of the Night (1839), which contained the poem “A Psalm of Life.”

Rizmercs9508

• Some of the works of Longfellow– “Wreck of the Hesperus,”– ”The Village Blacksmith”– ”The Skeleton in Armor”– ”Excelsior”– Three notable long narrative poems on

American themes: Evangeline (1847), about lovers separated during the French and Indian War (1754-1763); The Song of Hiawatha (1855), addressing Native American themes; and The Courtship of Miles Standish (1858), about a love triangle in colonial New England. .

Rizmercs9508

– The Seaside and the Fireside (1849)– Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863), containing the

well-known poem “Paul Revere's Ride”– Ultima Thule (1880)– Longfellow also made a verse translation of The

Divine Comedy (3 volumes, 1865-1867) by Italian poet Dante Alighieri.

Rizmercs9508

Longfellow’s Poetic Works

• Characterized by familiar themes• Easily grasped ideas• Clear• Simple• Melodious language• Most modern critics, however, are not in

accord with the high opinion that was generally held of the author by his contemporaries, and his works are often criticized as sentimental

Rizmercs9508

Longfellow’s Poetic Works

• Longfellow remains one of the most popular of American poets, primarily for his simplicity of style and theme and for his technical expertise, but also for his role in the creation of an American mythology. His verse was also instrumental in re-establishing a public audience for poetry in the United States.

Rizmercs9508

Motivation Question

Rizmercs9508

• Do you have any task that you would want to accomplish in just a snap?

• Have you had any dream?• What are the things that you consider as

enemies of humanity?• What will you do to achieve success?• What are the things that you think will help

you achieve success?

Rizmercs9508

A Psalm of Life

Rizmercs9508

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.

Rizmercs9508

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Rizmercs9508

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each tomorrow

Find us farther than today.

Rizmercs9508

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.

Rizmercs9508

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!

Rizmercs9508

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!

Rizmercs9508

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sand of time;

Rizmercs9508

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Rizmercs9508

Let us then be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

Rizmercs9508

Discussion

Rizmercs9508

• How does the poem affect you as an individual?

• Is Longfellow a good motivator? How did his work affect you in your perspective in life?

• How did the poem push you to strive for your dreams?

• What will you do to reach your goals?

Rizmercs9508

Prepared by :

Riziel Joanne Mercado