Subject: English

Topic: The Village Blacksmith

Grade: VII

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 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 Born in Portland, Maine.
1807-1882
 Went to and later taught at Bowdoin
College.
 Also taught at Harvard.
 Became a full time writer in 1854.
 First poetry collection: Voices of the
Night .
 Was the first American to translate
Dante’s Divine Comedy.
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 About the poem

The poem portrays how

the life and work of a
common man can
provide an example of
persistence and
accomplishment in spite
of trials and tragedies.

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 Stanza wise explanation

Under a spreading chestnut-tree

The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

• Stanza 1: The poet talks about a person, the blacksmith

of course, who is strong and he is standing under the
chestnut tree. His hands are stronger than usual and the
poet uses a simile to compare his hands to iron bands in
the last line.

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 His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate’er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Stanza 2: In the second stanza, Longfellow tells us that the blacksmith has long,
black and crisp hair. The next thing is his face which is tan (brownish).
The blacksmith’s brow is wet with ‘honest sweat’ and he earns only what he can.
The poet is hinting at the ‘honesty’ and ‘satisfaction’ of the blacksmith.
He does not borrow from anyone because he earns as per his capacity and does
not demand more. He is not greedy!
And a person who does not owe to anyone can live a life happy and glee! The
expression ‘looks the whole world in the face’ means that a person who is
honest, not greedy and does not borrow unnecessarily (or not at all) can be
equal to everyone in the terms of treatment. He won’t need to flatter
someone!

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 Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

Stanza 3: These lines are all praise for the blacksmith’s

labour that he does from the morning to evening
until the sun sets. The sounds of his sledge sound
like the village bell.
A person can always hear his bellows (the set-up to
heat the iron to be able to forge it). And this goes on
every day…

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 And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

Stanza 4: In this stanza, Longfellow tells the readers about

the school children who (out of curiosity and admiration) love
to see the blacksmith’s work through the door which remains
open.
Children love to see the bellows which produce sounds like
roaring. Children also love to see the sparks which keep flying
and produce a scene like the flying husks during the
threshing procedure.

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 He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter’s voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

Stanza 5: In this stanza, the poet is relaxed and he is telling

us about the soft side in the heart of this strong blacksmith
who goes to attend the church every Sunday with his family.

The blacksmith hears carefully the preacher’s message; he

listens to the prayer with joy and also loves to listen to his
daughter’s voice who plays in the village choir. And all this
Sunday episode, the poet says, makes the blacksmith happy
and satisfied!
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 It sounds to him like her mother’s voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his haul, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.
Stanza 6: The poet continues the stanza from where he left
off in the last one. Longfellow tells us that the Blacksmith
feels that the voice of his daughter is just like her mother –
his wife (who has died) as if she is singing in the heaven.
The blacksmith thinks about his wife in the grave and tears
flow out of his eyes. He wipes the tears with his ‘hard and
rough’ hands. In these lines, the poet seems to suggest
that the outlook of the blacksmith is hardened but he owns
a soft heart which has emotions!

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 Toiling,–rejoicing,–sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose.

Stanza 7: The blacksmith becomes his vehicle in this poem to tell us

what should be the ‘structure’ of a happy and satisfied life. The
blacksmith spends his life working hard, being happy and being sad
at times.
He keeps moving ahead in his life as each morning he starts something
new and ends it with the evening. Every day he works and every night
he rests fully. The hard work he does in the morning gives him the
sleep of calm in the night. The blacksmith, to the poet, is an ideal
person!

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 Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

Stanza 8: The poet thanks the blacksmith for the ‘lesson’ that he
has taught to the poet (and then the poet taught to the
readers).
Longfellow tells that we should also learn the lesson of hard work
from the village blacksmith and never shy away from
determination and labour which will eventually build our
fortunes. This world is just like the anvil on which we have to
shape our deeds and thoughts to make ourselves a better
person day by day…
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 Conclusion
The poem ‘The Village Blacksmith’ is a beautiful,
purposeful, insightful and meaningful poem.
It tells us about the life of a blacksmith who becomes
the metaphor for a purposeful life.
We must learn from him – his hard work and
satisfaction.
We can always make our lives happy; we can always
make ourselves stronger!

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 Answer the following questions

1. What are the three physical characteristics of the village

blacksmith?
In the poem ‘The Village Blacksmith’ by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, the poet describes the blacksmith as a large, strong
man with long, black hair and a tan face. In stanza one, the
reader discovers he has ‘large and sinewy hands.’ Additionally,
the poet compares the ‘muscles of his brawny arms’ to ‘iron
bands’ to emphasise the blacksmith's physical strength. In
stanza two, the poet goes on to describe his hair as ‘crisp, and
black, and long,’ and ‘his face is like the tan.’ All of these
characteristics are physical.

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 Answer the following questions
2. How does the speaker feel about the village blacksmith?
The speaker holds the blacksmith in high esteem as a hard
worker, faithful man, loving father, devoted husband, and
worthy friend. He describes the blacksmith’s brow as ‘wet
with honest sweat,’ and that in addition to earning whatever
he can, he ‘owes not any man.’

3. What, according to the speaker, do children love about

the blacksmith?
The children are particularly fascinated by the ‘flaming forge,
’hearing the bellows roar,’ and catching ‘the burning sparks’
that fly from the fires he works with.

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 Answer the following questions

4. In stanzas five and six, what causes the blacksmith to think

simultaneously of both his daughter and his wife?
In these stanzas, the speaker tells the reader that when the
blacksmith attends church on Sunday, the voice of his daughter
singing in the choir reminds him of his wife’s voice, who he
believes is singing in heaven.
5. What is the lesson taught by the blacksmith?
The blacksmith has taught the speaker (and others) the value of
hard work, passion, and dedication. Through his actions, he has
shown the ways to a successful life. Our lives, too, are shaped
each day by ‘each burning deeds and thoughts.’

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 Imagery: The poet provides a beautiful image
of the personality and appearance of the
blacksmith.
For example, in the lines:
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate’er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

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 Figures of Speech

• Inversion- The words are not in the correct prose order

for poetic effect.
Example: Yesterday, a ship I saw.
(Yesterday, I saw ship.)
• Antithesis- Opposite words are used in the same line.
Example: Man proposes, God disposes.
Opposites: proposes and disposes

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 Figures of Speech
• Onomatopoeia: A word that imitates or
suggests the sound it describes.
Example: The bell sank with a gurgling sound.
• Transferred Epithet- The modifier or epithet
shifts from one noun to the other.
Example: He spent many sleepless nights.
Here, the modifier ’sleepless’ shifts from nights to
the man. The nights are not sleepless, the man
is.

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 Figures of speech
Sentence Figures of Speech

The smith, a mighty man is he,-

•Are strong as iron bands.

•His face is like the tan;
•And catch the flaming sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing floor.

•His brow is wet with honest sweat,

•Week in, week out, from morn till

night

•You can hear the bellows blow;-

•And hear the bellows roar.

•He hears the parson pray and preach.

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 Figures of speech
Sentence Figures of Speech

The smith, a mighty man is he,- Inversion

•Are strong as iron bands. Simile

•His face is like the tan;
•And catch the flaming sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing floor.

•His brow is wet with honest sweat, Transferred Epithet

•Week in, week out, from morn till Antithesis

night

•You can hear the bellows blow;- Onomatopoeia

•And hear the bellows roar.

•He hears the parson pray and preach Repetition

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