The Slave Singing at Midnight
An enslaved Black man sings psalms of Israel's victory and freedom in the quiet of night, moving the listener with tones of joy, solemnity, and sadness. The listener recalls the earthquake that freed Paul and Silas from prison and asks what power will bring the singer freedom.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Poetry, Abolitionist Literature, Religious Poetry · 223 words
First lines
Loud he sang the psalm of David! / He, a Negro and enslaved, / Sang of Israel's victory, / Sang of Zion, bright and free.
In that hour, when night is calmest, / Sang he from the Hebrew Psalmist, / In a voice so sweet and clear / That I could not choose but hear,
Songs of triumph, and ascriptions, / Such as reached the swart Egyptians, / When upon the Red Sea coast / Perished Pharaoh and his host.
And the voice of his devotion / Filled my soul with strange emotion; / For its tones by turns were glad, / Sweetly solemn, wildly sad.
Genres
- Poetry — Six rhymed quatrains move from an enslaved man's singing to the listener's questions about his deliverance.
- Abolitionist Literature — The contrast between biblical liberation and the singer's continued enslavement culminates in questions about who will free him.
- Religious Poetry — The singer's psalms and the account of Paul and Silas's release supply the religious language through which the listener considers bondage.
Tags
slavery · psalms · biblical liberation · religious singing · midnight
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The Slave Singing at Midnight 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: Poetry, Abolitionist Literature, Religious Poetry
- Length: 223 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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