Summary

The young man, speaking from his "heart," refuses to accept that life is “an empty dream” or that the
soul is dead.

Instead, he says that life is indeed real and true and that death is not the goal of life; the soul lives on
and does not turn to dust. We are meant to act and go beyond mere sorrow or happiness.

Even though we are brave, though, we still move towards death. Thus, we must seize the life we have
and be heroic, be more than dumb beasts. We ought to be wary of the past and the future, and instead
live and act within the present.

When we look at the lives of great men we can see that it is possible to live with meaning and that when
we depart, we leave our “footprints on the sands of time.” It is possible that some other person who is
toiling mournfully may see our footprints and take heart. Knowing this, we should be hopeful, prepared
for anything; we should endeavor to achieve and pursue, as well as “learn to labor and to wait.”

Analysis

This is one of Longfellow’s most beloved poems. It is didactic, intending to provide advice and counsel to
young men earnestly endeavoring to discern how to live this ephemeral life. The poem concerns a young
man who is responding to a psalmist after the older man gives an answer to the putative question of
what the meaning of life is; we do not have the psalmist’s response but can guess that it consisted of
Bible verses and a prosaic, Puritan-style claim that the sublunary life is meaningless and humans should
focus on meeting their creator in the afterlife. The fact that the man is referred to as a “psalmist” gives
the reader clues to what the poem is actually about. As critic Randall Huff describes it, the poem is “a
youthful declaration of independence from a pessimistic determinism supported by the full weight of
biblical authority.” The words “numbers” and “psalms” allude to the Bible, particularly the Old
Testament, and provide the sense that the psalmist’s conception of life is one of bleakness,
conservatism, and pessimism.

The young man’s response incorporates themes from Protestantism, but is much more optimistic. He
uses religious language and thereby shows, as Huff writes, that “his plans are not empty dreams
because, as the products of his soul, they offer proof that his soul is not dead.” Even though the body
molders into dust, his soul does not.

The young man’s account of what life should entail is reflective of the Protestant work ethic in which
earnest labor brings meaning to a difficult life. It also incorporates the influence of J. W. v. Goethe's
romantic brand of German Protestantism, which lauded action and boldness. Action and striving are key
in this poem, but Longfellow says it is also important to embrace quietness of spirit and the value that
comes in waiting and contemplation. Waiting can be a sort of labor itself, and labor for its own sake
does not bring satisfaction or meaning.
The poem, written in 1838, draws on Protestant, Romantic, and "common sense" aesthetic thought that
circulated at the time. Critic Jill Anderson discusses these influences and how Longfellow uses them to
give form to his didacticism. She writes, “the poem echoes other didactic texts of the era by urging that
the heart and the mind be directed toward a number of goals—mature adulthood, moral integrity,
economic success, salvation itself—without referring to any of these goals specifically.” A man works on
himself the way a poet crafts a poem, a blacksmith shapes a sword, or an artist paints a canvas.

In terms of literary influences upon the text, scholars usually find the aforementioned Goethe as well as
Poe and Dante, but this poem also has many similarities to a few Spanish works. Longfellow spent the
years between 1826 and 1837 traveling Europe and did not write poems during this time; instead, he
translated many works, those in the Spanish language outnumbering those in other languages. Sister M.
Aquinas Healy addresses this in her article on the poem, noting that “Psalm of Life” was the first original
poem written after Longfellow’s time of study and translation. In particular, she sees Jorge Manrique’s
poem “Coplas” as an influence; this was not only because Longfellow called this poem the “most
beautiful moral Poem” in the Spanish language, but because similarities exist in terms of the concept of
the empty dream, the soul’s goal being something other than going to the grave, and the counsel given
to the reader to focus on the present rather than the past or future.
Bible and reaction

the Lord is my shepherd, i shall not be in want. he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me
beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me. you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of
my life and i will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Live life well!! Don't be afraid of the adversities in Life .Face them bravely and look at them squarely in
the eye you got to live your life in the present.. forget about the past.. past is gone.. no need to cherish
about it.. or mourn it.. live your today because your today makes your tomorrow.