The Sifting of Peter
Recalling Peter's sifting in St. Luke's Gospel, the speaker warns that everyone is vulnerable to Satan's temptations. Sin leaves lasting wounds, but self-conceit can give way to meekness, and noble souls can rise stronger from defeat.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Religious Poetry, Didactic Poetry · 347 words
First lines
In St. Luke's Gospel we are told / How Peter in the days of old / Was sifted; / And now, though ages intervene, / Sin is the same, while time and scene / Are shifted.
Satan desires us, great and small, / As wheat to sift us, and we all / Are tempted; / Not one, however rich or great, / Is by his station or estate / Exempted.
Genres
- Religious Poetry — Rhymed stanzas connect Peter's biblical trial with Satan's temptations, the suffering Christ, sin, and meekness.
- Didactic Poetry — The speaker warns that wealth and rank cannot prevent temptation and urges recovery from defeat through humility and recognition of the divine within.
Tags
temptation · sin · humility · Christian faith · spiritual resilience
What this Textopian page supports
The Sifting of Peter 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: Religious Poetry, Didactic Poetry
- Length: 347 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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