Afternoon in February
As night falls, red sunlight glimmers on village windows and fresh snow hides the fences marking the road across the plain. A funeral procession passes through the meadows, and the speaker's sorrow echoes the tolling bell.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry, Nature Poetry · 151 words
First lines
The day is ending, / The night is descending; / The marsh is frozen, / The river dead.
Through clouds like ashes / The red sun flashes / On village windows / That glimmer red.
The snow recommences; / The buried fences / Mark no longer / The road o'er the plain;
While through the meadows, / Like fearful shadows, / Slowly passes / A funeral train.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Six rhymed stanzas move from the winter landscape to the speaker's inward response to a funeral bell.
- Melancholic Poetry — The passing funeral procession and dismal knell draw a sorrowful response from the speaker, whose heart seems to toll.
- Nature Poetry — The frozen marsh, river, red sunset and renewed snowfall establish the landscape through which the funeral procession passes.
Tags
winter · snowfall · sunset · funeral procession · sorrow · bells
What this Textopian page supports
Afternoon in February is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Melancholic Poetry, Nature Poetry
- Length: 151 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
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- Work identity for Afternoon in February by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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