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A Psalm of Life
The famous poem "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
36 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1892
6 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
2,917 books738 followersExtremely popular works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, in the United States in his lifetime, include
The Song of Hiawatha
in 1855 and a translation from 1865 to 1867 of
Divine Comedy
of Dante Alighieri.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow educated. His originally wrote the "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Evangeline." From New England, he first completed work of the fireside.
Bowdoin College graduated Longefellow, who served as a professor, afterward studied in Europe, and later moved at Harvard. After a miscarriage, Mary Potter Longfellow, his first wife, died in 1835. He first collected Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841).
From teaching, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow retired in 1854 to focus on his writing in the headquarters of of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the Revolutionary War for the remainder.
Dress of Frances Appleton Longfellow, his second wife, caught fire; she then sustained burns and afterward died in 1861. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing and focused on from foreign languages.
Longfellow wrote musicality of many known lyrics and often presented stories of mythology and legend. He succeeded most overseas of his day. He imitated European styles and wrote too sentimentally for critics.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow educated. His originally wrote the "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Evangeline." From New England, he first completed work of the fireside.
Bowdoin College graduated Longefellow, who served as a professor, afterward studied in Europe, and later moved at Harvard. After a miscarriage, Mary Potter Longfellow, his first wife, died in 1835. He first collected Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841).
From teaching, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow retired in 1854 to focus on his writing in the headquarters of of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the Revolutionary War for the remainder.
Dress of Frances Appleton Longfellow, his second wife, caught fire; she then sustained burns and afterward died in 1861. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing and focused on from foreign languages.
Longfellow wrote musicality of many known lyrics and often presented stories of mythology and legend. He succeeded most overseas of his day. He imitated European styles and wrote too sentimentally for critics.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 2, 2016
This poem is amazing. Period.
March 17, 2014
The poem, “A Psalm of Life,” is a very inspiring poem that shows to all that we should act in the present and never live in the past. It also teaches us that we as humans leave a mark on the sands of time for all those to see in the distant future. We leave our mark whether it is good or bad and hope for the better that none will repeat. We work for what we want no matter how long the wait. We strive for what we desire and for that, we do all that we can to achieve it.
“A Psalm of Life,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was written in 1838 when Longfellow was thirty-one years old. It was first published in the “Knickerbocker Magazine” in October. The poem makes you feel as if you’re watching time go by and seeing the past change to the future and watching as all those before you leave their mark on the world. It makes me feel as though I am standing along the coast and staring at the ocean while the waves curl in and fade away, leaving remnants of the tracks that were here before me.
The poem doesn’t really have a specific character. It mostly just tells us that there were great men before us all and that we should be in control and not like dumb, driven cattle. Longfellow is the speaker of the poem and you can tell this by seeing that he uses “we” and “I” in his poem. He uses “we” though to incorporate us into the poem as well and showing that we are a character in his poem.
This poem is well suited for all ages. It is a highly inspirational poem that could make anyone feel like they can do anything and really make a difference in this world. I rate this poem as a five out of five due to the effort and pride that Mr. Longfellow put into this. He did everything he could do in order to leave his mark. He left us his inspirational poems to make us want to do better with our lives.
“A Psalm of Life,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was written in 1838 when Longfellow was thirty-one years old. It was first published in the “Knickerbocker Magazine” in October. The poem makes you feel as if you’re watching time go by and seeing the past change to the future and watching as all those before you leave their mark on the world. It makes me feel as though I am standing along the coast and staring at the ocean while the waves curl in and fade away, leaving remnants of the tracks that were here before me.
The poem doesn’t really have a specific character. It mostly just tells us that there were great men before us all and that we should be in control and not like dumb, driven cattle. Longfellow is the speaker of the poem and you can tell this by seeing that he uses “we” and “I” in his poem. He uses “we” though to incorporate us into the poem as well and showing that we are a character in his poem.
This poem is well suited for all ages. It is a highly inspirational poem that could make anyone feel like they can do anything and really make a difference in this world. I rate this poem as a five out of five due to the effort and pride that Mr. Longfellow put into this. He did everything he could do in order to leave his mark. He left us his inspirational poems to make us want to do better with our lives.
April 5, 2014
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.......
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.......
June 12, 2018
I absolutely love this poem. My grandfather left it for me, and it'll stay with me for life.
March 3, 2022
4.5 Stars
rounded up to 5 Stars.
April 22, 2023
A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is beautifully written and inspiring. He takes about leaving the past behind, living in the now, and leaving a legacy.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
August 26, 2022
Thank you Henery for writing this wonderful poem! It motivates me big time and deserves more than five stars for sure. You may rest in peace
March 20, 2020
Life is not a measly reverie. It is an enormous veracity, which even death is not able to terminate. Man leads a perpetually spiritual existence. Whatever he does remains secure. All he needs to do is to act in the living present without being hindered by the thoughts of precedent disappointments. Nor should he be enticed by the blushing dreams of future. He should aspire at unremitting expansion and development, aiming at spiritual fortification.
The poet gives a memorandum of robust action. He discharges the belief that life is but a vacant dream. In actual fact, the soul is lifeless that slumbers. Life is a great reality, and must be taken industriously. A dream has no real existence. It has no meaning. Life demands that we must exploit every moment to achieve something substantial. This process is interminable. Not only should we accomplish and chase forever in life, it must persist even after death. The poet believes that grave is not the ultimate goal of life.
If soul is eternal, we cannot say that man is made of dust and shall go back to dust after death. It is true that body is fragile. But soul lives for ever. Its journey extends beyond death. All that we do adds to the enhancement of the soul.
But what exactly should be the aim of life? It is neither gratification nor grief. The aim of life should be to act in such a way that every subsequent day should find us further than the preceding day.
Human life is short in the sense that our physical existence ends after all. But knowledge is vast and limitless. The only wise option is to act, and not to waste time in slumbering.
The great men of the past have left behind them the - examples of behaviour for us to trail. They have left their footprints on the sands of time. We can follow those footprints and thus achieve greatness like our forefathers.
This is a poem read by generations. Its lines are easy to remember, oft-quoted to the extent of some having become proverbial. Inspite of this, some detractors say that it has less of poetry but more of moralising. All we can say in response is that this poem does deal with life and its attitudes. It touches upon theoretical questions. It deals with life and death, with body and soul. It makes statements. It rejects certain beliefs. It supports certain views. That is how it moralises.
But to say that it has less of poetry is to say the untruth. The poem makes an instantaneous appeal to all kinds of readers.
This itself is a quality to recommend it to the critic as well. What appeals easily and deeply is certainly poetic. It is beautiful.
The poet gives a memorandum of robust action. He discharges the belief that life is but a vacant dream. In actual fact, the soul is lifeless that slumbers. Life is a great reality, and must be taken industriously. A dream has no real existence. It has no meaning. Life demands that we must exploit every moment to achieve something substantial. This process is interminable. Not only should we accomplish and chase forever in life, it must persist even after death. The poet believes that grave is not the ultimate goal of life.
If soul is eternal, we cannot say that man is made of dust and shall go back to dust after death. It is true that body is fragile. But soul lives for ever. Its journey extends beyond death. All that we do adds to the enhancement of the soul.
But what exactly should be the aim of life? It is neither gratification nor grief. The aim of life should be to act in such a way that every subsequent day should find us further than the preceding day.
Human life is short in the sense that our physical existence ends after all. But knowledge is vast and limitless. The only wise option is to act, and not to waste time in slumbering.
The great men of the past have left behind them the - examples of behaviour for us to trail. They have left their footprints on the sands of time. We can follow those footprints and thus achieve greatness like our forefathers.
This is a poem read by generations. Its lines are easy to remember, oft-quoted to the extent of some having become proverbial. Inspite of this, some detractors say that it has less of poetry but more of moralising. All we can say in response is that this poem does deal with life and its attitudes. It touches upon theoretical questions. It deals with life and death, with body and soul. It makes statements. It rejects certain beliefs. It supports certain views. That is how it moralises.
But to say that it has less of poetry is to say the untruth. The poem makes an instantaneous appeal to all kinds of readers.
This itself is a quality to recommend it to the critic as well. What appeals easily and deeply is certainly poetic. It is beautiful.
March 19, 2014
"A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a poem written in the third person with a theme based around leaving your mark on life. A line suggesting this theme states, "Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal."
The speaker of this poem is in the third person. The poem is written to be about we the people, or everyone.
The setting is not very well described and is not important in this poem. Despite this, the author does a great job throughout the poem using imagery.
I would recommend this poem to anyone who enjoys poetry or to anyone who is looking for inspiration. It is extremely well-written and is one of the better poems that I have ever read.
The speaker of this poem is in the third person. The poem is written to be about we the people, or everyone.
The setting is not very well described and is not important in this poem. Despite this, the author does a great job throughout the poem using imagery.
I would recommend this poem to anyone who enjoys poetry or to anyone who is looking for inspiration. It is extremely well-written and is one of the better poems that I have ever read.
October 28, 2024
Beautiful one of my favorite poems.
Read
June 30, 2021"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."
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."
April 16, 2023
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.
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.
April 30, 2024
FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
https://thebookcornerchronicles.com/2...
And here we go again talking about another bad poem.
This poem felt kind of weird but it also was super boring and super uninteresting. I had hard time on getting through this poem even thou it was very short.
My attention was constantly running away from this poem because my attention wasn’t having it and it almost didn’t exist for this poem.
The writing style in this one was also pretty bad. I gotta say that the worst thing about this poem was the writing style.
https://thebookcornerchronicles.com/2...
And here we go again talking about another bad poem.
This poem felt kind of weird but it also was super boring and super uninteresting. I had hard time on getting through this poem even thou it was very short.
My attention was constantly running away from this poem because my attention wasn’t having it and it almost didn’t exist for this poem.
The writing style in this one was also pretty bad. I gotta say that the worst thing about this poem was the writing style.
February 2, 2026
Just a really great poem, that really makes you look at life from a different lens. About how instead of living life in the past or worrying so much, you should make every day better than the day before and breath in the present. I think everyone should read this and really take in the words to heart and mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2017
Typical Longfellow. Sound ideas, but nothing to write home about.
April 5, 2019
Honestamente, acabo de leerlo y ya lo he olvidado. No he sufrido leyéndolo en cualquier caso.
October 13, 2019
Not one of Longfellow's best. Kinda boring, trite, and too sentimental.
January 4, 2020
4 stars
October 21, 2020
Romanticism unit with juniors. 🙌🏼
October 27, 2020
♥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.
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
March 15, 2022
Lovely
July 26, 2025
I listen to this all the time! I almost have it memorized just listening to it.
September 20, 2025
INCREDIBLE! Who needs anyone yelling at you for motivation when you can just memorize a line or two from this!!
June 10, 2025
Eight point two billion souls agree
The life of action is the life for me
The life of action is the life for me
January 14, 2019
One of my favorites ❤️
April 13, 2025
5+ stars (6/10 hearts). One of my very favourite poems ever… Life is not purposeless. We can’t afford to let it slip by. The whole reason of life is to live it well. To better our lives, constantly. It’s very discouraging, when we think about it, that time is so rapid and we are so slow, but we can choose to do something about it. We must do what we can, with whatever we have, where we happen to be. We can make a difference if we try. We can change people—change the world—if only we learn to be patient, and work hard, and wait.
Message aside, the phrases, pacing, words, and rhyming are exquisite. I read this version: archive.org/details/psalmoflife00long...
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.
Message aside, the phrases, pacing, words, and rhyming are exquisite. I read this version: archive.org/details/psalmoflife00long...
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.
May 15, 2014
"A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a poem written in the third person with a theme based around leaving your mark on life. A line suggesting this theme states, "Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal."
The speaker of this poem is in the third person. The poem is written to be heard from anyone.
The setting is not very well described but it's not really necessary. But, the author does a great job throughout the poem using imagery.
I would recommend this poem to anyone who enjoys poetry or to anyone who is looking for inspiration. It is extremely well-written and is one of the better poems that I read. I rated it three out of five stars.
The speaker of this poem is in the third person. The poem is written to be heard from anyone.
The setting is not very well described but it's not really necessary. But, the author does a great job throughout the poem using imagery.
I would recommend this poem to anyone who enjoys poetry or to anyone who is looking for inspiration. It is extremely well-written and is one of the better poems that I read. I rated it three out of five stars.
June 8, 2025
'Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;"
"Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."
Optimism is all over the place and also a very good attitude; crying, mourning or perpetual sorrow are not on this list. So it looks like Mr. Henry didn't read too much Poe, or perhaps he didn't like the Poesque way of living...
And the grave is not its goal;"
"Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."
Optimism is all over the place and also a very good attitude; crying, mourning or perpetual sorrow are not on this list. So it looks like Mr. Henry didn't read too much Poe, or perhaps he didn't like the Poesque way of living...
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews