The soul which aimlessly follows what it is told is the soul which slumbers, and according to the narrator, it is as good as dead. A sleeping soul is the one who is not living fully to its desires. He denies that life is a meaningless dream and is filled with misfortunes.įor the soul is dead that slumbers The use of metaphor here tells that the soul which sleeps is as good as dead. Mournful numbers here indicate the verses of Psalm that tells that life is a hollow dream. He asks not to tell him this pessimistic perception of life in mournful numbers. The poet refuses to believe in the negative view of life. The beginning of the poem starts with the life that denies the pessimistic view of the Psalmist. Now let’s look at the detailed analysis and explanation of the poem, A Psalm of Life.
It is said that the death of his wife also played a lot of influence in the creation of this poem. The poem was inspired by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the conversations with Cornelius Conway Felton. It tells us that we can be more than what we are, everyday. It asks the readers to throw away the docile, traditional biblical doctrine of life that has been taught and live life to the fullest. The poem tells the reader to look at life with positivity and hopefulness. What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist H.W Longfellow was promised a payment of $5 for publication of this poem, but was never paid. The later section of the article will deal with the explanation of A Psalm of Life, it’s symbolism, meaning, figure of speech and questions and answers about the poem. The poem was first published in 1838 in the New York Magazine and this poem is also referred to as “A Song of Life.” The poem is often subtitled as “What the Heart of a Young Man said to the Psalmist,” and in the later sections of the analysis, we’ll explain why. A Psalm of Life is a didactic poem written by one of the most celebrated poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.