A Psalm of Life

A Psalm of Life 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. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way; But to act, that each tomorrow Find us farther than today. Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave. In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! Let the dead Past bury its dead! Act, - act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o'erhead! Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sand of time; Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again. Let us then be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.       -by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow This is one of the most meaningful poems I've ever read, and after talking in my writing and rhetoric class about ethos, pathos, and logos I've found that all three are laced throughout the poem. To start off, I think the most prominent aspect of the poem is Longfellow's use of logos. From the beginning of the poem he explains that the purpose of life is to live, not die (i.e. "the grave is not it's goal"). This logic also leads to conviction of seizing the day, in contrast to letting life pass by "like dumb, driven cattle." Furthermore, the logic of hoping that "each tomorrow/Find us farther than today" also works together with pathos in touching the emotional appeal of expectation and believing the future holds something better. Other interpretations of the poem have also suggested that Longfellow's words have an underlying theme of hope found in the knowledge of an afterlife, which also would also relate to the emotional appeal. Longfellow also enforces both the logos and the pathos by encouraging the reader to emulate the amazing examples of individuals, therefore also tying in the concept of ethos and the credibility of those examples. Logos is also tied in once again with the repetition of the metaphor of "footprints." This restatement ties in the example of those who have gone before, and the potential that the reader has to leave the same impact on future individuals. Such logos brings self-knowledge, and correlates with the readers pathos in inspiring to know that they can make a difference. Altogether, the final stanza of the poem ties together all three concepts. Logos and pathos are shown that in living an active life with a perspective open to possibilities, as well as with characteristics such as diligence and patience, will bring forth individuals full of ethos and credible experience and example for others to follow.