The Two Angels by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
At dawn, the speaker fears for his loved ones when an angel knocks, but the visitor announces an errand of Life. At a friend's house, the other angel whispers a word like Death, and two angels emerge where one entered. The speaker concludes that both messengers serve God and should be admitted.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Religious Poetry · 529 words
First lines
Two angels, one of Life and one of Death, / Passed o'er our village as the morning broke; / The dawn was on their faces, and beneath, / The sombre houses hearsed with plumes of smoke.
Their attitude and aspect were the same, / Alike their features and their robes of white; / But one was crowned with amaranth, as with flame, / And one with asphodels, like flakes of light.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhymed quatrains recount two angels' passage over a village and their separate visits to the speaker's and his friend's homes.
- Religious Poetry — The speaker accepts his visitor as God's messenger and concludes that angels of Life and Death act only with God's permission.
Tags
angels · life and death · divine providence · fear · bereavement
What this Textopian page supports
The Two Angels 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: Narrative Poetry, Religious Poetry
- Length: 529 words
- Structure: 1 section, 11 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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