“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Introduction

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“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Summary

“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Themes

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  The Mystery and Finality of Death

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• 

  Humanity vs. Nature

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”

• Line 1

  The tide rises, the tide falls,

  

  

  

  

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• Line 2

  The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-5

  Along the sea-sands damp and brown
  The traveller hastens toward the town,
      And the tide rises, the tide falls.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 6-7

  Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
  But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 8-10

  The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
  Efface the footprints in the sands,
      And the tide rises, the tide falls.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 11-12

  The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
  Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-15

  The day returns, but nevermore
  Returns the traveller to the shore,
      And the tide rises, the tide falls.

  

  

  

  

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“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Symbols

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  The Sea and the Seashore

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• 

  Darkness and Light

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• 

  The Traveller's Journey

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“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Antithesis

  

  

  

  

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• Parataxis

  

  

  

  

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• Sibilance

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Curlew
• Hastens
• Efface
• Hostler
• Nevermore

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Speaker

“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”

More “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Maine Historical Society and Longfellow — Learn more about the poet's life and work courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.

  • Longfellow's Life Story — Read the Poetry Foundation's biography of Longfellow, including context for the collection in which "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" first appeared.

  • Lecture on Longfellow's Life — Watch Longfellow scholar Charles C. Calhoun deliver a lecture on the poet's life and work.

  • Early Text of "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" — Read the Internet Archive's scan of the poem in an early (1882) edition of Ultima Thule, the collection in which it was first published.

  • A Guide to the Fireside Poets — Read the Academy of American Poets' introduction to the "Fireside Poets," a school of 19th-century American writers in which some critics have grouped Longfellow.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  • A Psalm of Life