Bayard Taylor by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A poet lies dead among his books, unable to turn their pages or repeat their songs. The speaker addresses him as traveller, poet, and friend, wonders where he now rests, and contrasts yesterday's farewell bells with today's tolling for his death beyond the sea.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Elegy, Literary Tribute · 266 words
First lines
Dead he lay among his books! / The peace of God was in his looks.
As the statues in the gloom / Watch o'er Maximilian's tomb,
So those volumes from their shelves / Watched him, silent as themselves.
Ah! his hand will nevermore / Turn their storied pages o'er;
Genres
- Elegy — The speaker mourns a dead friend through repeated descriptions of his body among books and the tolling of funeral bells.
- Literary Tribute — The address to the dead poet recalls his latest verse and connects his writing about Deukalion with his own life.
Tags
mourning · books · funeral bells · afterlife · elegy
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Bayard Taylor is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Elegy, Literary Tribute
- Length: 266 words
- Structure: 1 section, 16 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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