The Poets
The Poets - meaning Summary
Art's Solace in Suffering
Longfellow addresses both deceased and neglected living poets, arguing that poets endure through their verse and that neglect can effectively 'kill' a maker. He suggests that poetic vocation involves suffering—likened to a crown of thorns—yet that the gift of song brings a consoling sweetness. Comfort and meaning are found inward, not in public acclaim; true triumph and defeat belong to the poet’s interior experience rather than external applause.
Read Complete AnalysesO ye dead Poets, who are living still Immortal in your verse, though life be fled, And ye, O living Poets, who are dead Though ye are living, if neglect can kill, Tell me if in the darkest hours of ill, With drops of anguish falling fast and red From the sharp crown of thorns upon your head Ye were not glad your errand to fulfill? Yes; for the gift and ministry of Song Have something in them so divinely sweet, It can assuage the bitterness of wrong; Not in the clamour of the crowded street, Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.
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