An Analysis Of The Indomitable Spirit Of Man In Henry...

Henry Ford, the automobile magnate, once stated that the quot;world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward† (Daily Quotations Network). Man has always struggled with uncontrollable aspects of his environment, but his ability to overcome these seemingly indomitable obstacles has earned recognition from numerous classical writers and poets, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. â€Å"One of the real American Poets of yesterday† (Montiero, Preface), Longfellow elaborates on man’s perpetual struggle with life and nature in his poetry. In â€Å"A Psalm of Life,† â€Å"The Village Blacksmith,† and â€Å"The Rainy Day,† Longfellow explores many facets of man’s unyielding will.†¦show more content†¦His health began to fail in 1881, and he died of peritonitis on March 24, 1882. A bust of Longfellow was mounted in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey in 1884 as a tribute to the outstanding writer. He is the only non-British author to be awarded this honor (Williams 21). Longfellow was quot;the first of the front-ranking American poets of his time to go, and his death was widely recognized as marking the beginning of the end of an eraquot; (Wagenknecht 19). A popular poet, Longfellow deals quot;with important subjects clearly and forthrightly while adopting a frankly didactic and inspirational tonequot; (Allabeck 118). He uses simple language; he once stated that if a poet quot;wishes the world to listen and be edified, he will do well to choose a language that is generally understoodquot; (Allabeck 119). Although only a quot;second class poet,quot; his ability to capture his readers interest and appeal to their emotions has made Longfellow a staple figure in the hearts of his followers (Hearn 485). He writes to inspire and improve society using quot;metrical regularityquot; and quot;careful rhymequot; to emphasize his idea that life is meaningful (Allabeck 118). The rhythmic cadence in quot;A Psalm of Life,quot; quot;The Village Blacksmith,quot; and quot;The Rainy Dayquot; suggests that the lives of men are characterized by