Daybreak
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Q. How did Longfellow present the day in his poem, Daybreak? How did the wind establish its relationship with the day?
Answer: Longfellow presents the day in his poem, Daybreak in his own context. The poem catches the day as soon as it comes out of the womb of darkness. The faint light of the sun falls on the chest of the sleeping sea. The sea breeze first gets the message of dawn. The foggy sea was still asleep. The sailors of the calm ship are asleep. The wind is desperate to wake them up.
Gradually fades out the darkness. The glory of the day will soon be revealed in the activity of the sailors. But the wind wants to blow through deserts, fields, houses and monuments, forests and churches. The news that the darkness of the world has been removed is still unknown to him. Its leafy banners remain furled. Birds take shelter in its chest. But they also sleep at their nests folding their wings.
Then the wind blows over the farm. Here too the sea wind sees that the rooster is not ready. It can't catch the dawn. The arrival of the new day is announced with its sharp voice. The wind inspires him to do his duty. The fields full of crops are asleep for a long time. The new day will bring them new nutrition. For, in the richness of light they get the nourishment of survival. So a grateful congratulation demands a new dawn from them. Again, the church bell is silent because the bell does not ring. But the Church bells must ring. The sound of this bell is the magic of a glorious morning.
However, the wind is closely associated with the day. Since the wind is the first to receive the message of the day, it feels insane to spread it all over the world. A new day means a new life. Day is naturally active. The sea wind is busy on these days. This day inspires everyone to work. The wind is blowing too. This wind does not know what rest is. This wind is as fast as the day. Apparently they are of the same mind. The wind is ready to celebrate the birth of the day. So their relationship is sweet and spiritual.
Q. Explain the reason for the change of tone in the last two lines of the poem, Daybreak.
Answer: The last two lines of Longfellow's poem, Daybreak, of course, capture a change of tone. That change is understandable in ordinary way. The first sixteen lines of the poem indicate the winds to be strong. At that time the wind is on duty. There is busyness in this sea wind. It is eager to spread the message of dawn to the whole world. This wind is moving fast and at full speed. The wind was then at the peak of his action.
It came out of the sea. It first breaks the sleep of the ships and the sailors. It reaches far and wide, and makes everyone work. This wind blows through the forest. It bows through the fields. The birds in the forest call at its retort. The rooster is told to be vocal in singing only to announce the news of daybreak. It hails the morning.
In fact the wind announces the arrival of dawn. But as soon as the sea wind reaches the graveyard, it stops for a moment. The festival has been going on for so long. The festivities are over. The wind is also annoyed. Different activities invigorate its whole being. But the sight of the grave saddened the sea wind. It is moistened with sympathy for the dead. It sighed for the people who had left forever. There is the melody of sadness in its voice.
The wind knows its call will not reach the dead souls. They would rather rest in peace. The wind bids them farewell. And so there is a sudden change of tone. This change is expressed in the structure of the last two lines of the poem. In these lines of the poem, Daybreak we see the absence of a syllable. Failure to give this intentional syllable indicates a temporary break in the wind speed.
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