candide

Longfellow was known for writing deep meaning poems about life. A theme present in many of his poems is about how to live wisely and well. In both “The Village Blacksmith” and “A Psalm for Life”, it is made clear to the reader that the best way to live life is to make something of yourself and earn an honest living.
In the “Village Blacksmith”, it is evident the best way to live life is to work hard and earn an honest living. This can be seen in the first two stanzas. Longfellow begins by describing the strength of the blacksmith. He uses a simile in stanza one and compares the man’s arms to iron bands. This allows the reader...