A Psalm Of Life

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1838

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Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

"Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant (1817)

Like “A Psalm of Life,” this is an enduring, monumental expression of the Fireside Poets school of American poetry that found a wide and appreciative audience. Like Longfellow’s poem, Bryant’s work is a grand and magisterial contemplation on the reality of death and the need not to fear it but rather to use it as incentive to make the most of life.

"The Light of Stars" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1838)

Famously described by Longfellow himself as the “Psalm of Life, Part Two,” the poem picks up the same inspirational note. The poem uses imagery of the night sky and the planets to inspire readers to overcome life’s obstacles and to realize moments of triumph over adversities. Suffering, the poet acknowledges, is a given. What is crucial is how a person rises to that challenge.

"Excelsior" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1841)

The story of a heroic Alpine climber, carrying a flag that bears the single word “Excelsior” (Latin for “higher and higher”), who resists the comforts and conveniences of a remote mountain village to pursue a climb to the summit of a mountain, an intrepid journey that in the end costs him his life. It is the theme of “A Psalm of Life” but delivered via the medium of a riveting narrative with suspense and centered on a young hero devoted to the principle of never abandoning a quest.

Further Literary Resources

"‘A Psalm of Life’ Reconsidered: The Dialogue of Western Literature and Monologue of Young America" by Kenneth Hovey (1987)

A major reassessment of the poem, part of the reclamation among university scholars of Longfellow’s reputation after being savaged by nearly two generations of Modernist poets who dismissed Longfellow’s poetry as superficial and cliché. Hovey approaches the poem as a major expression of the American mind at a critical moment in its young history. He sees the young man, defiant and eager to act, as the expression of the young nation, determined to succeed and to rise to the challenge of independence.

"Cross of Snow: A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow" by Nicholas Basbanes (2020)

The first major interpretive biography of Longfellow in more than 20 years, the study, widely admired, positions Longfellow, the professor-poet, as a major American poet who, along with Whitman and Dickinson, defined what has become, respectively, the head, heart, and soul of the American poetry canon. The biography meticulously researches Longfellow’s private life to draw important connections between his verse and his life. The section on “A Psalm of Life,” for instance, sees the poem as a devastated Longfellow inspiring himself to rise from the tragedy of the deaths of his wife and child.

"Stylistics Analysis of “A Psalm of Life" by Karen and Donald Quackenbush (2019)

A dense and often exactly mathematical analysis of Longfellow’s carefully sculpted lines, the article reveals exactly how difficult are Longfellow’s apparently simple rhythm scheme and rhyme patterns. The authors use previously unavailable early drafts of the poem to parse the poem one line at a time to reveal the science behind the music. The analysis works with syllable counts, assonance, consonance, and alliteration.

Listen to the Poem

“A Psalm of Life” Read by Jasper Britton

Longfellow’s poem has been recorded dozens of times, sometimes reconstructed into a short film with spacious images and sweeping inspirational soundtracks that help recreate the poem’s august feel. This presentation, however, is zen-like in its minimalism, showing only the text of the poem itself (save for the closing shot which is an unnervingly up-close studio head shot of the actor). The reader, a respected British Shakespearean character actor, delivers the poem with dignity and energy, particularly mindful of the alternating syllable patterns that give this recitation pace and thematic integrity.