Dante
Dante - context Summary
1833: Voices of the Night
Longfellow's short poem addresses Dante as a solemn Tuscan wanderer whose stern, prophetic presence nonetheless carries human sympathy and compassion. It evokes recognizable Dantean imagery—tombs, cloisters, and a grave voice that still whispers "Peace"—and frames Dante as both awe-inspiring and tender. The poem reflects Longfellow's engagement with Italian literature and reverent portrait of its greatest poet.
Read Complete AnalysesTuscan, that wanderest through the realms of gloom, With thoughtful pace, and sad, majestic eyes, Stern thoughts and awful from thy soul arise, Like Farinata from his fiery tomb. Thy sacred song is like the trump of doom; Yet in thy heart what human sympathies, What soft compassion glows, as in the skies The tender stars their clouded lamps relume! Methinks I see thee stand, with pallid cheeks, By Fra Hilario in his diocese, As up the convent-walls, in golden streaks, The ascending sunbeams mark the day's decrease; And, as he asks what there the stranger seeks, Thy voice along the cloister whispers, "Peace!"
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