Afternoon in February
Afternoon in February - meaning Summary
Winter as Funeral Procession
Longfellow’s poem presents a bleak February evening in which winter landscape details—the frozen marsh, red sun through ashen clouds, snow-covered fields—are read as a funeral scene. A slow procession and pealing bell externalize mourning, and the speaker’s internal sorrow mirrors the desolate surroundings. The poem links natural imagery and personal grief so that landscape and feeling become one, making the season itself feel like a ritual of loss.
Read Complete AnalysesThe day is ending, The night is descending; The marsh is frozen, The river dead. Through clouds like ashes The red sun flashes On village windows That glimmer red. The snow recommences; The buried fences Mark no longer The road o'er the plain; While through the meadows, Like fearful shadows, Slowly passes A funeral train. The bell is pealing, And every feeling Within me responds To the dismal knell; Shadows are trailing, My heart is bewailing And tolling within Like a funeral bell.
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