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Why is life not an empty dream in "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?

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In "A Psalm of Life," life is not an empty dream because it is real, earnest, and full of possibilities. Longfellow emphasizes youthful vitality and the importance of conscious decisions to live heroically. He portrays life as a battle where individuals can leave lasting legacies, inspiring others. The poem encourages a positive, hopeful approach, asserting that life has meaning and purpose if we choose to make it so, leaving "footprints on the sands of time."

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote "A Psalm of Life" a few years after the death of his first wife, Mary Storer Potter. Her death touched him profoundly, and part of the motivation of writing the poem may have been to reconcile himself to the event. The subtitle of the poem reads, "What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist," and this impresses upon the reader the youthful vitality that the poem insists is essential in facing life.

In the first stanza, Longfellow insists that life cannot be considered an empty dream and rendered down to meaningless statistics, or, as he calls them in the poem, "mournful numbers." He spends the rest of the poem expounding upon why he takes this stance. He admits that some souls are asleep and "beat as funeral marches to the grave." To wake up, to feel alive, to be a hero, and to accomplish great things are conscious decisions that people make. Life is not simply a dream if we choose to make it more.

Longfellow compares life to a battle in which we must be heroes. "Great men" remind us that we can also be great, leaving our "footprints on the sands of time." Others who come after us, the,n may see our examples and "take heart again." In other words, they will be encouraged that life is more than a dream and that they should live it heroically. In conclusion, life is not an empty dream to those who choose to wake up and make it real by accomplishing great things.

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The narrator of the poem "A Psalm of Life" is adamant that life is not an empty dream, but is instead real and earnest.  He begs the psalmist not to tell him "in mournful numbers" about the emptiness of life.  Instead, he encourages the idea "that each to-morrow, Find us farther than to-day."  He believes in life as a journey.  The narrator also encourages a heroic approach to life.  His approach to life is a positive one, and one which is full of hope and valor.  He does not see any emptiness in life.  Instead, he sees it as being full of possibility.

Leaving behind a great legacy is also important to the narrator.  One who lives life as if it is empty will not leave behind such a legacy.  Though bodies will turn to dust, souls will live on.  Legacies will also live on.

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