The Goblet of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The speaker compares life to a goblet of grief, with bitter fennel representing the clearer sight and strength that suffering can bring. Invoking Ajax's plea for light, the speaker urges prayer for endurance and pledges solidarity with the afflicted, anticipating shared sleep after life's brief struggle.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Didactic Poetry, Meditative Poetry · 576 words
First lines
Filled is Life's goblet to the brim; / And though my eyes with tears are dim, / I see its sparkling bubbles swim, / And chant a melancholy hymn / With solemn voice and slow.
No purple flowers, -- no garlands green, / Conceal the goblet's shade or sheen, / Nor maddening draughts of Hippocrene, / Like gleams of sunshine, flash between / Thick leaves of mistletoe.
Genres
- Didactic Poetry — The speaker urges readers to accept life's bitterness and pray for the strength to bear their cares.
- Meditative Poetry — The sustained comparison of life to a bitter goblet leads to reflection on suffering, endurance, and the brief struggle before shared sleep.
Tags
grief · endurance · fennel · suffering · prayer · mortality
What this Textopian page supports
The Goblet of Life 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: Didactic Poetry, Meditative Poetry
- Length: 576 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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