"Tell Me Not, In Mournful Numbers, Life Is But An Empty Dream"

Download PDF PDF Page Citation Cite Share Link Share

Context: Two of our most quotable poems are "A Psalm of Life" and Kipling's "If," both of which have been vastly popular. As late as 1929, when Longfellow's reputation was perhaps at its lowest, a poll showed "A Psalm of Life" to be, by all odds, America's favorite poem. Its point of view is that of Goethe's Wilhelm Meister, and Longfellow felt that the poem was so much a part of himself that he kept it "some time" in manuscript. It was a rallying cry against his own despondence, which he refuted in his verses. Almost every line is quotable, the first stanza being:

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.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Previous

"Lives Of Great Men All Remind Us We Can Make Our Lives Sublime"