ASSIGNMENT

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most beloved American poet of the nineteenth century. If you have heard of him prior to this class, it was probably for his poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” For today’s discussion, I am asking you to read his poem “A Psalm of Life.” As we are using different editions of the text, I will not give a page number here. You can google the poet’s name and poem title and find it on the internet if it is not in the book you are using.

The poem is titled a psalm “of life.” If you are familiar with the psalms in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, you know they are titled by numbers, and sometimes by author. For example, Psalm 23 is a psalm “of David,” indicating that King David is the author. Holman’s A Handbook to Literature says a psalm is “a lyrical composition of praise.” So Longfellow’s poem is either written by life or it is a lyrical composition in praise of life. Perhaps it is both: informed by Longfellow’s life experiences and written in praise of life.

Longfellow inscribes a philosophy of life throughout his poem. Identify one belief that Longfellow’s speaker has about life. Then explain whether or not you agree with that belief. Then explain. For example, if you agree that we should “Be a hero in the strife!” (20), how is one a hero in life? Few of us are faced with moments of physical heroism. Short of training to be firefighters, how can we be heroes?

And, of course,One of you might not agree with anything in Longfellow’s poem. In that case, tell why you do not agree with the philosophy of life in it.

Your response needs to identify the line you are discussing and be around 75-100 words.