The Singers by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
God sends three singers: a youth playing a lyre in groves and beside streams, a bearded man singing in a marketplace, and an old man singing in cathedrals. When listeners dispute which is best, the Master explains that their gifts to charm, strengthen, and teach sound harmonious to a rightly tuned ear.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Allegorical Poetry, Religious Poetry · 281 words
First lines
God sent his Singers upon earth / With songs of sadness and of mirth, / That they might touch the hearts of men, / And bring them back to heaven again.
The first, a youth, with soul of fire, / Held in his hand a golden lyre; / Through groves he wandered, and by streams, / Playing the music of our dreams.
The second, with a bearded face, / Stood singing in the market-place, / And stirred with accents deep and loud / The hearts of all the listening crowd.
A gray old man, the third and last, / Sang in cathedrals dim and vast, / While the majestic organ rolled / Contrition from its mouths of gold.
Genres
- Allegorical Poetry — Three singers embody distinct gifts to charm, strengthen, and teach, which the Master compares to harmonious chords.
- Religious Poetry — God sends singers to draw human hearts toward heaven, and cathedral song accompanies an organ expressing contrition.
Tags
music · divine gifts · harmony · singing · contrition
What this Textopian page supports
The Singers is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Allegorical Poetry, Religious Poetry
- Length: 281 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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