With these lines Longfellow

establishes that he does not want to

hear from those who feel that life is
only time spent on earth and that
there is nothing after one die.
Longfellow indicates that things may
not be as they seem.
The poet uses an encouraging tone to
say that life is real and serious. Life
should not be treated lightly. Moreover,
the poet says that death is not the goal;
life does not end with death. “Dust thou
art, to dust returnest” is not applicable
to the soul, this quotation is applicable
only to the body.
This stanza is about the way of
living. The poet tells us that our
way of leaving should be only
based on enjoyment or
mourning. The aim of life is to act
wisely each day so that we can
make a better future.
This stanza is about the work assigned to us
and about the time which is flying. It means
that the work given to us is too long and
time-consuming. The poet encourages that
under such situations, our hearts remain
stout and brave. The message that the poet
wants to convey through this stanza is that
one should not lose courage under any
circumstance.
The poet compares the world to a battlefield as well
as a temporary camp for troops. The humans are
compared with troops. He asks all the people to live
and fight their battles within the given period of
time. The poet asks us not to be like the dumb cattle
which is driven by others, because of its lack of
direction and determination. This indicates that
people should not become complacent with life.
Instead, mankind should make the most of every
minute of existence in this world.
The poet asks us not to trust on the
future even if it seems pleasant.The
past incidents must be forgotten
away. The aim in life should be to act
courageously at present and not to
lose faith in God.
Lives of great men remind us that we can make
our own lives noble and elevated that is we can
reach great heights. Finally when we die, we
can leave behind us our footprints (noble
deeds) for others to follow our path. The noble
deeds which we leave behind should be such
that an unhappy and shipwrecked man, sailing
over the sea of life, would be confident and
take courage, following our example.
This stanza points out to the reader
that mankind should take as example
all the great men that have come
before, who are evidence that not
everyone is forgotten after their life
on earth has ended. Everyone should
strive to be like them and leave
footprints on others and the world.
In this stanza, the poet asks us to
begin at once with courage
without thinking about the
consequences of the actions. He
asks us to achieve our aim and
learn to work hard and wait
patiently for rewards.
 The poet is showing a different
angle to live this life and he is
constantly saying that there is only
one life and hence one should make
a good use of it.
 One should know how short this
life is and how to make it more
meaningful.
 This is really an encouraging
poem which tells reader not to
waste any part or little time in life.
 The overall poem is based on one
point and that point is Life. Poet
constantly says that one should not
waste time in unimportant tasks
 which are fruitless and which will
keep a person away from dreams.
 This life is very meaningful, and it
depends on the person to increase
the meaning and sense in it. One
should strictly avoid laziness and
work for their dreams.
 The poet guides youth audience
to follow their dreams instead of
wasting time in making fun of
others. All unnecessary tasks like
sleeping for long hours, laziness in
work and much more are fruitless
and will increase the burden of
living at the end of life.
 The poem strives to look at the
human attitude toward life and
death. The major theme of the poem
is that living is not the only thing
humans are put on earth for. While
heaven may be the goal at the end of life,
humans are also sent to earth to live
productive and generous lives as well.
Life means to act at present. It is neither
for enjoyment nor for to joy and sorrow.
Instead of paying attention to joy and
sorrow, we ought to act, we must not
waste time in expecting a more suitable
time to come. We should think that
tomorrow is far away from today.
Therefore, we must act right from now.
While working, we have to
follow the footprints of great
men in past. By reading their
biography and by following their
footprints and examples we can
make our own lives great and
sublime.
The poet begins the poem by asking
us not to tell him in sorrowful verses
that life is an empty, meaningless
dream. According to Longfellow, a
person who spends his sleeping is
already dead. Such a worthless life
misguides other human beings.