The Lighthouse by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A speaker watches a distant lighthouse brighten at dusk as ships pass, and describes a mariner remembering its appearance on his first voyage and return. The tower withstands storms, while a seabird blinded by its light strikes it and dies. The personified lighthouse urges ships onward to bring people closer together.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Poetry, Maritime Literature · 635 words
First lines
The rocky ledge runs far into the sea, / And on its outer point, some miles away, / The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, / A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day.
Even at this distance I can see the tides, / Upheaving, break unheard along its base, / A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides / In the white lip and tremor of the face.
Genres
- Poetry — Fourteen rhymed quatrains describe the lighthouse, passing ships, and the tower's imagined speech.
- Maritime Literature — The lighthouse guides mariners past reefs, illuminates passing sails, and endures waves and hurricanes.
Tags
lighthouses · maritime navigation · ships · storms · seabirds · sea voyages
What this Textopian page supports
The Lighthouse 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: Poetry, Maritime Literature
- Length: 635 words
- Structure: 1 section, 14 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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