“The Cross of Snow” By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The Cross of Snow”
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 Where
does the poem shift and why?
 What
Christian images are present in the
poem? How do these images relate to the
speaker? How do these images relate to the
subject?
 What
is the tone of the poem? How do you
know? Identify the devices (diction, images,
figurative language, etc) that help create the
tone.
In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face--the face of one long dead-Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died, and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.
 The
Cross of Snow
 What



is the significance of the title?
The cross is a shape , but it also holds symbolic
meaning for Christians because Jesus died on a
cross.
In society, we often refer to burdens or sorrows
as “crosses to bear.”
Snow is white and often symbolizes purity.
In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face--the face of one long dead-Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died, and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.
 The
speaker, sitting up sleepless at night,
looks at the picture of his dead wife on the
wall, where it is surrounded by a halo of
lamplight.
 His wife died in this room, and the speaker
suggests she was saint-like, religious, pure.
 There is a mountain that has snow in the
shape of a cross which is like the cross the
speaker wears on his chest since the day his
wife died.
 Imagery
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Personification
 Symbolism
IMPLIED METAPHOR
A halo…martyrdom – wife is a saint
IMPLIED METAPHOR
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast – cross
is his grief of losing his wife
 Looks
at me from the wall (the picture)
In the long, sleepless watches of the night
Creates the image of a night watchman.
A gentle face –
Looks at me from the wall, where round its
head
The night lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Christian image of a saint
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Image of a mountain that bears a cross shape
filled with snow
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
Creates the image of a deep wound in the
speaker’s chest
 White
– purity
 Snow - purity
 Cross - grief and sorrow
 His
wife was pure and good, even saint-like,
and even after 18 years, he is still grieving or
carrying the burden of the loss
 Mood
 Tone
 Theme
 The
overall feeling of the poem is solemnly
reflective or serious, even sad
 Sadness
 Longfellow’s
attitude toward loss
 One
may never get over the tragic loss of a
loved one – no matter how much time has
passed.
 Rhyme
 Rhyme
scheme or Free verse
 Rhythm
 Meter
 Assonance
 Alliteration
 Onomatopoeia
In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face – the face of one long dead –
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died; and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing
scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.
Exact end rhyme
C
D
E
C
D
E
 Iambic
pentameter – a line of poetry that
contains 5 iambs
 Iamb – an unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable
In the long, sleepless watches of the night
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Note: There are others; this is one example.
You must be thorough.
The night lamp casts a halo of pale light
Note: There are others; this is one example.
You must be thorough.