THE ARROW AND THE SONG

By: Henry Wadsworth LongfellowPowerPoint made by: Madison Webster

Information about the poet-• He was a traveler, a linguist, and a romantic who identified with the great

traditions of European literature and thought. • Henry became a national literary figure by the 1850s.• Henry Longfellow usually wrote blank verse, heroic couplets, ballads and sonnet

poems.• Henry also worked full time at Harvard University, lectured, and directed the

Modern Languages department.• When Henry wrote poems he always wrote his poems with his audience in mind.

Information about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from:

http://www.hwlongfellow.org/life_youth.shtml

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/henry-wadsworth-longfellow

http://www.nps.gov/long/historyculture/henry-wadsworth-longfellow.htm

I shot an arrow into the air,It fell to earth, I knew not where;For, so swiftly it flew, the sightCould not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,It fell to earth, I knew not where;For who has sight so keen and strong,That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oakI found the arrow, still unbroke;And the song, from beginning to end,I found again in the heart of a friend.

The poem is a lyric poem, and is made up of 3 stanzas and 12 lines, 4 lines each.

This poem expresses the speakers emotions or thoughts.

The tone of the poem is very joyful, awed, and inspired.

The speaker of the poem is a man who has a lot of experiences with friendship.

Literary Elements

•End Rhyme- every line has a paired rhyme pattern.

•Repetition- used to create or maintain the beat.

• Sensory details- used to express what something looks like.

•Rhyme scheme- used to flow with the poem.

Stanza #1

I shot an arrow into the air, (a)It fell to earth, I knew not where; (a)For, so swiftly it flew, the sight (b)Could not follow it in its flight. (b)

• The poet is making an analogy. Comparing the arrow to real life, and the song to feelings. • The arrow is shot out to symbolize his

friendship with another person and when he finds it unbroken, he knows that the friendship is sill in harmony. • The speaker does not care where the

arrow lands because he is desperate to find his best friend.He is hoping the arrow will lead him to his best friend.

Stanza #2

I breathed a song into the air, (c)

It fell to earth, I knew not where; (c)

For who has sight so keen and strong, (d)

That it can follow the flight of song? (d)

• Keen- having or marked by intellectual quickness and acuity.

• Henry wishes to convey to his audience that although the arrow/real life is usually visible to the eye, the song/feelings are not any less real just because they are invisible.

Stanza #3Long, long afterward, in an oak (e)

I found the arrow, still unbroke; (e)

And the song, from beginning to end, (f)

I found again in the heart of a friend. (f)

• The poem is about friendship.

• The song being found in the heart of a friend may indicate that the friend and him are still close.

• The literal meaning of this poem is a man shooting his arrow into the air and he then finds his arrow unbroke.

• The figurative meaning is the man had a friendship and his friend moved away, but later on he found his friend and the friendship continued.

Links for images-

• http://janawin.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

• http://www.biography.com/people/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-9385673

• http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/use-music-to-cut-through-the-publicity-noise-0352095

• http://hdwallsource.com/oak-tree-wallpaper-hd-32960.html

Theme-The theme of this poem is that in some friendships people may move away but you can still have a strong friendship with them no matter what.

Author’s Purpose- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this poem to express his experiences that he has had with friendship.