A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: A Formalist Analysis

by Karl Isaac D. Managa

A Psalm of Life
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
What the Heart of the Young Man Said to Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
the Psalmist Be a hero in the strife!

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

"Life is but an empty dream!" Let the dead Past bury its dead!
For the soul is dead that slumbers, Act,--act in the living Present!
And things are not what they seem. Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Life is real! Life is earnest! Lives of great men all remind us

And the grave is not its goal; We can make our lives sublime,
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest," And, departing, leave behind us
Was not spoken of the soul. Footprints on the sands of time;

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Footprints, that perhaps another,

Is our destined end or way; Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
But to act, that each to-morrow A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Finds us farther than to-day. Seeing, shall take heart again.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, Let us, then, be up and doing,
And our hearts, though stout and brave, With a heart for any fate;
Still, like muffled drums, are beating Still achieving, still pursuing
Funeral marches to the grave. Learn to labor and to wait.

“Whoa, we're half-way there… Whoa, livin' on a prayer. Take my hand, we'll make it I swear.
Whoa, livin' on a prayer.”
These are the lyrics of one of the most popular rock songs in the world, Livin’ on a Prayer
by Bon Jovi. Everyone can agree, that whenever the chorus hits, our vocals chords widen
and shouts: Whoa! Livin’ on a prayer.
The poem, A Psalm of Life has been written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the
monumental figures of the 19th century American literature and a famous poet in his time,
up until the present time, it remains his prominent piece.
To analyze the literary piece, the elements of poetry are provided and delivered in a way
that readers understand it clearly by means of the formalist approach.
According to Salirick Andres, formalist criticism is defined as a literary criticism approach
which provides readers with a way to understand and enjoy a work for its own inherent value
as a piece of literary art. Formalist critics spend a great deal of time analyzing irony, paradox,
imagery, and metaphor. They are also interested in a work’s setting, characters, symbols, and
point of view.
Let us reflect on the author’s point of view in the poem. The dialogue is in the perspective of
the persona who narrates/tells the poem himself, thus, the point of view of the piece is on
the first-person point of view.
Within the verses of the poem, the author used the noun: me, ours, we, and us.
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.

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

The poem talks about life and its symbolism, specifically the present life. That one should
focus on living life on the present. Undoubtedly, the past together with hardships and trials
make a person a better version of themselves, but living and dwelling within the past
would not contribute to the betterment of their being.

The poem, A Psalm of Life, utilized different literary devices to show the mood, theme, and
morals to the readers. Here are the literary devices used in literary piece.

Rhetoric Devices are evident in the poem that makes it more fascinating to read. It has
Anaphora, the repetition of word or phrase within the sentence.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

Footprints on the sands of time; Footprints, that perhaps another
Still achieving, still pursuing

The use of Consonance, referred to the shared consonant within the sequence.

"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"

The poem also has used figurative language/literary device to convey a more deep and
creative depiction of the theme of the poem.
The use of personification in the literary piece, has made it worth of reading.
Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects.

Time is fleeting,

Funeral marches to the grave,

Mournful numbers.

About poetic device, the poem has used devices in this rhyme such as stanza and rhyme
scheme.

• Stanza: there are nine stanzas composed of four lines.

• Rhyme Scheme: the poem follows ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL MNMN OPOP
GQGQ, rhyming pattern.
• Poetic foot: The poem is written in trochaic tetrameter.

Life is full of wonders and surprises, but expect the unexpected. For life has hardships and
trials – and that makes life more beautiful. Although the poem consists of words that might
be unfamiliar within our faculty, its message about life pierced through the heart, and slashed
beyond the soul.
Let me end with the beautiful lines of the poem, A Psalm of Life, for life is to live, laugh, and
love.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait.