"A Psalm of Life" was written by the famed New England poet and professor Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. First published in 1838 in the New York literary magazine The Knickerbocker, the poem was inspired by a conversation between Longfellow and a fellow professor. As such, the poem is framed as a dramatic monologue spoken by the "Heart of a Young Man" to a "Psalmist." In the poem, the speaker declares that living in the present is more godly than the kind of austere and restrained life the Psalmist champions. In doing so, the poem captures the spirit of carpe diem, or "seize the day."
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The Full Text of “A Psalm of Life”
1 What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.
2Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
3 Life is but an empty dream!
4For the soul is dead that slumbers,
5 And things are not what they seem.
6Life is real! Life is earnest!
7 And the grave is not its goal;
8Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
9 Was not spoken of the soul.
10Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
11 Is our destined end or way;
12But to act, that each to-morrow
13 Find us farther than to-day.
14Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
15 And our hearts, though stout and brave,
16Still, like muffled drums, are beating
17 Funeral marches to the grave.
18In the world’s broad field of battle,
19 In the bivouac of Life,
20Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
21 Be a hero in the strife!
22Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
23 Let the dead Past bury its dead!
24Act,— act in the living Present!
25 Heart within, and God o’erhead!
26Lives of great men all remind us
27 We can make our lives sublime,
28And, departing, leave behind us
29 Footprints on the sands of time;
30Footprints, that perhaps another,
31 Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
32A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
33 Seeing, shall take heart again.
34Let us, then, be up and doing,
35 With a heart for any fate;
36Still achieving, still pursuing,
37 Learn to labor and to wait.
The Full Text of “A Psalm of Life”
1 What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.
2Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
3 Life is but an empty dream!
4For the soul is dead that slumbers,
5 And things are not what they seem.
6Life is real! Life is earnest!
7 And the grave is not its goal;
8Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
9 Was not spoken of the soul.
10Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
11 Is our destined end or way;
12But to act, that each to-morrow
13 Find us farther than to-day.
14Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
15 And our hearts, though stout and brave,
16Still, like muffled drums, are beating
17 Funeral marches to the grave.
18In the world’s broad field of battle,
19 In the bivouac of Life,
20Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
21 Be a hero in the strife!
22Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
23 Let the dead Past bury its dead!
24Act,— act in the living Present!
25 Heart within, and God o’erhead!
26Lives of great men all remind us
27 We can make our lives sublime,
28And, departing, leave behind us
29 Footprints on the sands of time;
30Footprints, that perhaps another,
31 Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
32A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
33 Seeing, shall take heart again.
34Let us, then, be up and doing,
35 With a heart for any fate;
36Still achieving, still pursuing,
37 Learn to labor and to wait.
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“A Psalm of Life” Summary
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“A Psalm of Life” Themes
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Living in the Present
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Psalm of Life”
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Line 1
What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.
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Lines 2-5
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. -
Lines 6-9
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul. -
Lines 10-13
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day. -
Lines 14-17
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. -
Lines 18-21
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! -
Lines 22-25
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! -
Lines 26-29
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time; -
Lines 30-33
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again. -
Lines 34-37
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
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“A Psalm of Life” Symbols
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The Heart
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Footprints
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Field of Battle
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“A Psalm of Life” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Personification
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Simile
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Metaphor
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Assonance
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Allusion
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Anaphora
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“A Psalm of Life” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Psalmist
- Mournful Numbers
- Slumbers
- Thou
- Art
- Returnest
- Stout
- Muffled
- Bivouac
- Dumb
- Howe'er
- O'erhead
- O'er
- Main
- Forlorn
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Psalm of Life”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“A Psalm of Life” Speaker
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“A Psalm of Life” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “A Psalm of Life”
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More “A Psalm of Life” Resources
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External Resources
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A Biography of Longfellow — A detailed biography of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, along with more poems.
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Longfellow at the Maine Historical Society — A valuable resource from the Maine Historical Society, including a full database of Longfellow's poems and biographical information.
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"A Psalm of Life" Music Video — Listen to and watch a music video interpretation of the poem by the Annie Moses Band.
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"A Psalm of Life" Read Aloud — Listen to a reading of the entire poem.
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"Labour and Wait" Art Exhibit — Read about the art exhibition "Labour and Wait," inspired by "A Psalm of Life."
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"A Psalm of Life" Song Adaptation — Listen to the entire poem sung to music.
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Leslie Odom Jr.'s Music Album "Mr." and "A Psalm of Life" — Read about a singer—and the original Burr in the musical Hamilton—whose new album titled "Mr." includes a track that incorporates "A Psalm of Life."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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