Agassiz
Agassiz - context Summary
Tribute to Louis Agassiz
Longfellow's "Agassiz," published in 1870 in the collection Ultima Thule, is an elegiac tribute to the Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz. Written by a friend and colleague, the poem mourns Agassiz's death and registers shock that a man who had "read Nature's mysterious manuscript" should be silent. It addresses nature's settings and the poet's sense of personal and scientific loss, asking why such a figure is gone.
Read Complete AnalysesI stand again on the familiar shore, And hear the waves of the distracted sea Piteously calling and lamenting thee, And waiting restless at thy cottage door. The rocks, the sea-weed on the ocean floor, The willows in the meadow, and the free Wild winds of the Atlantic welcome me; Then why shouldst thou be dead, and come no more? Ah, why shouldst thou be dead, when common men Are busy with their trivial affairs, Having and holding? Why, when thou hadst read Nature's mysterious manuscript, and then Wast ready to reveal the truth it bears, Why art thou silent! Why shouldst thou be dead?
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