The Spirit of Poetry
The speaker describes a spirit moving through woods, streams, hills, and storms, lifting thought and drawing poets to nature. In youthful fancy, the speaker personifies this spirit as a feminine figure whose features resemble seasonal skies, trees, flowers, and birdsong.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Nature Poetry, Metapoetry · 708 words
First lines
There is a quiet spirit in these woods, / That dwells where'er the gentle south-wind blows; / Where, underneath the white-thorn, in the glade, / The wild flowers bloom, or, kissing the soft air, / The leaves above their sunny palms outspread. / With what a tender and impassioned voice / It fills the nice and delicate ear of thought, / When the fast ushering star of morning comes / O'er-riding the gray hills with golden scarf; / Or when the cowled and dusky-sandaled Eve, / In mourning weeds, from out the western gate, / Departs with silent pace! That spirit moves / In the green valley, where the silver brook, / From its full laver, pours the white cascade; / And, babbling low amid the tangled woods, / Slips down through moss-grown stones with endless laughter. / And frequent, on the everlasting hills, / Its feet go forth, when it doth wrap itself / In all the dark embroidery of the storm, / And shouts the stern, strong wind. And here, amid / The silent majesty of these deep woods, / Its presence shall uplift thy thoughts from earth, / As to the sunshine and the pure, bright air / Their tops the green trees lift. Hence gifted bards / Have ever loved the calm and quiet shades. / For them there was an eloquent voice in all / The sylvan pomp of woods, the golden sun, / The flowers, the leaves, the river on its way, / Blue skies, and silver clouds, and gentle winds, / The swelling upland, where the sidelong sun / Aslant the wooded slope, at evening, goes, / Groves, through whose broken roof the sky looks in, / Mountain, and shattered cliff, and sunny vale, / The distant lake, fountains, and mighty trees, / In many a lazy syllable, repeating / Their old poetic legends to the wind.
Genres
- Nature Poetry — Woods, cascades, winds, flowers, and seasonal colors supply the settings and comparisons throughout the verse.
- Metapoetry — The speaker connects poets' love of natural places with an inspiring spirit that youthful fancy gives a visible form.
Tags
poetic inspiration · woods · personification · seasons · birdsong
What this Textopian page supports
The Spirit of Poetry 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: Nature Poetry, Metapoetry
- Length: 708 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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