Name __________________________________
Block _______
English 11 –Romanticism Literature
“A Psalm of Life” page 344
Comprehension/Interpretation
1. According to the speaker, what is “our destined end,” or purpose?
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2. How does the speaker’s view of life compare with your own?
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3. In your own words, summarize what the speaker says about the value of the lives of
great people? (Lines 25-32) Do you agree with the speaker? Explain.
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4. If this poem were to be sung, what style and type of music do you think would best fit
with its meter and theme? Explain.
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5. Do you think that American’s today still share the values expressed in “A Psalm of Life”?
Point out lines in the poem that you think modern Americans might or might not agree
with.
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Poetic Devices
Define the following:
Stanza- _________________________________________________________________________________
Rhyme Scheme -_________________________________________________________________________
Meter- ___________________________________________________________________________________
Poets often use these devices to give their poems musical qualities. Read the poem aloud to
hear the rhyme and rhythm. Use the charts on the other side to record the information
about the way Longfellow wrote his poem.
Rhyme & Meter
When you read the poem aloud, pay attention to its patterns of sound, such as end rhymes.
Then tap out the meter, or rhythm of the poem. Fill in the chart with examples from the
poem. One has been done for you. Then describe the overall effect these devices from the
poem.
Examples
Overall Effect
Rhyme
1. numbers, slumbers____________
2. _______________________________
3. _______________________________
1. Life is but an empty dream!—
Meter
2. _______________________________
3. _______________________________
Stanza & Rhyme Scheme
To mark the rhyme scheme of a stanza or poem, use letters (beginning with a) to designate
the lines, assigning the same letter to lines that end with the same sound. Identify the
rhyme scheme in the following stanzas from “A Psalm of Life.” Two of the lines have already
been marked.
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
a
a
Follow up:
Look over the entire poem. What words or ideas does the rhyme scheme emphasize?
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