Divina Commedia by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker approaches Dante's poem as a cathedral where worldly noise recedes, imagining lamentations, confession, pardon, and sacred celebration within it. The closing sonnet addresses the poet as a light for Italy and describes his words reaching listeners in other languages, prompting both amazement and doubt.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Sonnets, Religious Poetry, Literary Tribute · 962 words
First lines
I
Oft have I seen at some cathedral door / A laborer, pausing in the dust and heat, / Lay down his burden, and with reverent feet / Enter, and cross himself, and on the floor / Kneel to repeat his paternoster o'er; / Far off the noises of the world retreat; / The loud vociferations of the street / Become an undistinguishable roar. / So, as I enter here from day to day, / And leave my burden at this minster gate, / Kneeling in prayer, and not ashamed to pray, / The tumult of the time disconsolate / To inarticulate murmurs dies away, / While the eternal ages watch and wait.
Genres
- Sonnets — Six numbered fourteen-line poems develop linked scenes through patterned rhyme.
- Religious Poetry — Prayer, confession, pardon, Christ's triumph, hymns, and the elevation of the Host shape the cathedral imagery.
- Literary Tribute — The speaker addresses the poet, imagines keeping pace with him, and describes his song spreading through Italy and other nations.
Tags
sonnets · cathedral imagery · prayer · confession · forgiveness · sacred music · poetic reception
What this Textopian page supports
Divina Commedia 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: Sonnets, Religious Poetry, Literary Tribute
- Length: 962 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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