"The Day is Done" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The Day is Done" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Published in 1844

I enjoyed reading "The Day is Done" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The author states he is tired and wants someone to read a story or a poem that will provoke happiness to take away the sadness of the day.  I chose this poem as a part of my grief anthology because the poet portrays tiredness and dark imagery as metaphor for grief. 

The poem is full of imagery.  The author states in the first stanza,

"The day is done, and the darkness falls from the wings of night, as a feather is wafted downward from an eagle in his flight."

He is focusing on the transition from day to night and continues to state that his soul cannot resist a feeling of sadness that comes over him. He describes his sadness by utilizing a simile.  He states, 

"a feeling of sadness and longing, that is not akin to pain, and resembles sorrow only as the mist resembles the rain." 

Throughout the remainder of the poem the author wished to be read a poem or a song that will allow his mind to rest.  In the following verse the author uses masculine rime to create euphony.

"Such songs have power to quiet the restless pulse of care, and come like the benediction that follows after prayer."

The last verse of the poem states that once the night is filled with music, the worries that consumed the day will be gone. 

We all cope with grief and sadness in different ways.  I particularly enjoy this poem because I can relate to the coping mechanism that the author uses to deal with grief or sadness.  I listen to music or read to take my mind off of worries that fill my mind from the day.  Through the use of metaphors and imagery the author illustrates his coping mechanisms for sadness and grief. 
 
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175166

 http://www.biography.com/people/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-9385673#!