Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Group
Question:
ramesh-chand...
Student
High School - 9th Grade
What is the theme of the poem "A Psalm of Life" by H. W. Longfellow?
Answers:
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lit24 Teacher
DoctorateeNotes Editor
Posted by lit24 on Friday February 20, 2009 at 6:30 AMThe lines "Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !" lucidly express the main theme of the poem.Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life" belongs to the genre of poetry called 'Carpe Diem' poems. The Latin term coined by Horace in one of his odes means, "Seize the day and place no trust in tomorrow."
Longfellow makes an earnest appeal to his readers not to worry about the past or fantasize about the future but to take maximum advantage of the present to achieve something valuabe and worthwhile:
"Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present!"Sources:
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kunj Student
High School - 10th GradePosted by kunj on Friday June 26, 2009 at 2:06 AMwe should have a positive attitude towards life.since our life is short and our mission is vast,we should begin our work at once without being preoccupied with the result of our actions.........
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