The Old Burying-Ground
This poem is a meditation on mortality and the transience of human life. It describes an old burying ground where the graves of the dead are overgrown with weeds and vines, symbolizing the passage of time and the inevitability of decay. The speaker reflects on the lives of those buried there, noting their accomplishments and failures, but ultimately concluding that all men are equal in death.
By John Greenleaf Whittier · First published 1867 · Genre: Poetry, Nature Writing, Meditative Literature · 580 words
First lines
Our vales are sweet with fern and rose, Our hills are maple-crowned; But not from them our fathers chose The village burying-ground.
The dreariest spot in all the land To Death they set apart; With scanty grace from Nature's hand, And none from that of Art.
A winding wall of mossy stone, Frost-flung and broken, lines A lonesome acre thinly grown With grass and wandering vines.
Without the wall a birch-tree shows Its drooped and tasselled head; Within, a stag-horned sumach grows, Fern-leafed, with spikes of red.
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The Old Burying-Ground is listed on Textopian as a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, dated 1867 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: John Greenleaf Whittier
- Date: 1867 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Nature Writing, Meditative Literature, Romanticism, Philosophical Literature
- Length: 580 words
- Structure: 1 section, 22 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is written in verse, employing meter and rhyme, characteristic of poetry.
- Nature Writing — The text reflects on the natural landscape surrounding the graveyard, emphasizing the connection between nature and mortality.
- Meditative Literature — The themes explore contemplation of life, death, and the human condition, inviting reflection.
- Romanticism — The work embodies elements of Romanticism, focusing on emotion, nature, and individual experience.
Tags
American Literature · Poetry · Mourning · Death · Grief · Nature · Symbolism · Historical Fiction · New England · Colonial Era · Puritanism · Religion