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Henry Longfellow The Tide Rises Tide Falls

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Ideological Transition from “A Psalm of Life” to “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”.
In “A Psalm of Life” Longfellow exposes his youthful naiveite by presuming that there is such a thing as a legacy that would last forever, however, in “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Longfellow corrects himself and admits the error in his ways. In a “Psalm of Life” Longfellow presents a very optimistic view of the world. A view I personally don’t agree with. Longfellow states “Life is real! Life is earnest!” to him life was a unique experience that, if lived right, would leave a permanent mark in “the sands of time”. This is what Longfellow believed during his youth. As is the case with most young people, myself included, you aspire to greatness, you wish to be …show more content…

To Longfellow this was the ideal everyone should strive for, “Be a hero in the strife!”. He goes on to saying that we can all achieve greatness and that our greatness will inspire others who have given up in the search for glory, “A forlorn shipwrecked brother/ Seeing, shall take heart again.” This is a very sweet fantasy nonetheless. While it is true that greatness is at everyone’s grasp, it doesn’t last forever. The greatest conqueror, the mightiest king, and the most noble hero have but one fate in common, other than death. That fate is to be forgotten. Nature finds a way to dispose of, not only your physical body, but also every trace of you from this planet. Longfellow states this in “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” “The little waves… Efface the footprints in the sands”. Longfellow, as he aged and came closer to death, realized this. His views of the world turned rather pessimistic, perhaps the death of his wife in 1861, or the acute stomach pains that would eventually give him a painful death triggered this transition. Nearing the end of his life

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Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass both presented the quality of heroism by their willingness to fight for freedom, liberty, and equality. In the “White House Funeral Sermon for Abraham Lincoln”, Dr. Phineas Gurley writes about how “he is dead; but the cause he so ardently loved, so ably, patiently, faithfully represented and defended- not for himself only, but for all people in all their coming generations…” The cause that Lincoln was fighting for was that every man has equal rights. Similarly, Frederick Douglass believed there should be a world where “none [are] lonely, none [are] hunted, alien…” This quote was from Robert Hayden’s Frederick Douglass poem that showed that Douglass’ legacy lived on through the ones that chose to continue

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Great Britain was the most powerful government in the world in the time of the American revolution, it had a reputable navy and army. Britain’s government style was a monarchy with a parliamentary system, which was implemented in the colonies. Following The seven years war British troops were stationed in the U.S. colonies war this and the war combined put Britain in a great amount of debt. In order to pay debts parliament needed to create revenue, so Grenville who was the prime minister and the British government introduced the sugar and currency act, along with these acts it created more taxes including, the Stamp act, Coercive acts, and Townshend acts. These all angered the colonists because they were not being properly represented in

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Dutch historian, Johan Huizinga once said, ¨It is impossible to strive for the heroic life. The title of hero is bestowed by the survivors upon the fallen, who themselves know nothing of heroism.¨ Johnny Cade, a boy with nothing more than a few friends, had hoisted himself to the top of society. His ability to stand in the face of danger and not even flinch was impeccable. For example, when Ponyboy was being drowned by the Socs, Johnny saved his friend (Ponyboy) from becoming shark-bait.

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William Cullen Bryant and his work "Thanatopsis" and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls" express messages with the theme of death and how it's a basic cycle of life, a person should live within the moment, and that there is an afterlife. Nature and/or natural instances such as death are portrayed multiple times within Bryant's and Longfellow's poems. The

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Again this quote refers to Beowulf and how heroism influences him to be who he is, to Beowulf the whole world is meaningless but his inner heroism, his ego, his reputation mattered the most to him. Even though everything is pointless he creates his own reputation and destiny by his

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As one begins to read, he/she notices that Longfellow incorporates his own style to increase the interest of his poem. After reading, the reader understands that the authors use their own stylistic techniques, such as figurative language, to make their writing more distinct and

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow uses imagery in “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” and “A Psalm of Life” to show his outlook on life and death. He uses footprints as imagery in both poems. In “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” Longfellow shows how the tide washes away footprints. In “A Psalm of Life” he shows that footprints stay and other people can see them. Though they are different outlooks, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow shows his outlooks on life and death in “The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls” and “A Psalm of Life.”

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This demonstrates the statement that not all “Heros” are the perfect people some are made to believe. However a few bad deeds can still be overshadowed by the greater acts a man

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Over the years, society has portrayed heroes in a skin tight jumpsuit with a cape and super powers. However, this is fantasy and not as heroic as some of our real life heroes, who start from nothing and rise to greatness. Romans 15:1-2 states “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” Heroes like Sir William Wallace understood the plight of his people and the tyranny under an English king, thus fought to give others the right to a free life.

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This article journal is from: The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister. In the past, we often hear of people who wanted their name to be remembered throughout history. Whether it be a Roman gladiator, a foreign ruler, or a philosopher, many just wanted their name to be known for all of time. They believed that they left a legacy if their names went down in history. One of the most painful things is that there are graves of unknown soldiers or unclaimed bodies (Chittister 215).

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A legacy in death is the influence that a person leaves behind after they pass away, affected by many factors and everchanging. It implies that one's life should be lived with the intention of having a significant and good influence on society that will be remembered and carried on after death. The idea of legacy in death is commonly illustrated in literature by characters who, whether on design or not, strive to leave a lasting imprint by their life work, relationships or actions. Furthermore, this character's eventual death frequently symbolizes a larger legacy that they may not have been aware of. Intentional or not, incorporating legacies in literature, especially in death, often develop into a larger social context that is observed over

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Should STEM be prioritized in schools as it is, or should the arts and humanities receive more attention? In today’s society, STEM is held to a higher standard as many believe that it is required to become successful, however humanities and arts also contribute to considerable achievements. While STEM initiatives should continue to be encouraged, they would be more beneficial when studied alongside the arts and humanities, providing the success and essential skills heavily valued in society. Some, such as Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, believe that STEM should get more resources to encourage high-paying future job opportunities: “students majoring in [subjects like] electrical engineering [should] receive state subsidies... [over] those who

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However, I challenge you to avoid resting on your laurels and instead to keep striving to achieve even loftier goals. Right now, you have no idea, you can’t even begin to imagine, what you are ultimately capable of accomplishing. Dream big, imagine, challenge, push boundaries, never settle, never give up. Dream big.

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In this poem Henry Longfellow describes a seaside scene in which dawn overcomes darkness, thus relating to the rising of society after the hardships of battle. The reader can also see feelings, emotions, and imagination take priority over logic and facts. Bridging the Romantic Era and the Realism Era is the Transcendental Era. This era is unusual due to it’s overlapping of both the Romantic and Realism Era. Due to its coexistence in two eras, this division serves as a platform for authors to attempt to establish a new literary culture aside from the rest of the world.

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The theme is expressed in his poem as Longfellow states, “Lives of great men all reminds us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of times”. As in Emily Dickinson poem, the theme is based on the cycle of life the inevitability of death. The poem “Beat! Beat! Drum!”

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