What Is The Mood Of The Bridge By Longfellow

The Bridge, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sometime after the death of his wife during miscarriage in the year 1835, reflects on the heart-rending feeling of loss. The poem was written by Longfellow as not only a reflection of the tragic loss of his wife, but also as a reflection of the conflicting emotions felt by him pertaining to the loss. In his poem, Longfellow describes two of the foremost conflicting emotions as depression and acceptance. These emotions are the same emotions later described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying as the last two stages of the grieving process. Hence the purpose of Longfellow’s poem The Bridge is to express personal grief and reflect on the conflicting emotions one feels during many of the losses presented during life. Noticeably, the setting and visual aspects introduced in the poem provide an insight to not only the mood, but the meaning as well. In the poem, Longfellow
The poem is pleasing due to its realistic and figurative interpretation of the grief and its several stages. Through his poem, Longfellow influences the audience to feel the same emotions he does while mourning the loss of his wife. These emotions are portrayed as melancholy, loneliness, depression, and reminiscence. The bridge, of which the poem constantly speaks of, is a figurative place to which a person goes to while coping with a loss. While the person is standing on the bridge, he or she experiences the reminiscence that accompanies mourning and the stages of grief. Standing on the bridge, the person ponders about life as well. The long procession of people walking across the bridge represents the fact that everybody experiences the internal conflicts that follow grief. Once a person has reflected on life and come to accept the loss (final stage of grief), he or she moves on and crosses the