Sunrise on the Hills
From the hills at sunrise, the speaker watches clouds lift over a wooded valley, river and cascade, then hears waters, a village bell, a horn, distant shouts and a gunshot. The speaker urges those burdened by sorrow to seek the woods and hills for strength.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry · 412 words
First lines
I stood upon the hills, when heaven's wide arch / Was glorious with the sun's returning march, / And woods were brightened, and soft gales / Went forth to kiss the sun-clad vales. / The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light, / They gathered mid-way round the wooded height, / And, in their fading glory, shone / Like hosts in battle overthrown. / As many a pinnacle, with shifting glance. / Through the gray mist thrust up its shattered lance, / And rocking on the cliff was left / The dark pine blasted, bare, and cleft. / The veil of cloud was lifted, and below / Glowed the rich valley, and the river's flow / Was darkened by the forest's shade, / Or glistened in the white cascade; / Where upward, in the mellow blush of day, / The noisy bittern wheeled his spiral way.
Genres
- Nature Poetry — The verses describe sunlight, clouds, woods, flowing water and a bittern before recommending the woods and hills to those in sorrow.
- Lyric Poetry — A first-person speaker recounts the sights and sounds of a morning landscape in rhymed verse, then directly addresses a troubled listener.
Tags
sunrise · hills · forests · rivers · village bells · consolation
What this Textopian page supports
Sunrise on the Hills 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: Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 412 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Sunrise on the Hills by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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