The Village Blacksmith Poem Summary Class 8 English

Introduction

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow released his poem The Village Blacksmith in 1840. It describes the whole day's activity of a blacksmith and his everyday life. He is represented as the role model of his family who balances both of them, i.e., his job and his family. After some years, a tree is cut down, which was stated in his poem, and converted into an armchair.

About Author

One of the most well-known and adored American poets of the 19th century was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was born on 27 February 1807 in Portland. He attained a degree of national and worldwide fame that had never before been matched in American literary history, and he is one of the few American authors honoured in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey, where his statue was placed in 1884. In fact, he is believed to be the first. Poems like "Paul Revere's Ride," "Evangeline," "A Tale of Acadie (1847), and "A Psalm of Life" were basics of the primary and secondary school curriculum and generations of people who studied them as kids have enduring memories of them.

Meaning of Stanza's

Meaning- The poet describes the blacksmith's physique and how muscular his arms appear to be in order to describe how the blacksmith appears in the community. The poet describes his powerful arms and muscles, which are the product of his hard labour as a blacksmith and help to shape his physique in this way.

Meaning- The poet goes on to describe his long, black, crisp hair, which is the result of spending all day in the sun, which also tans his face. These physical characteristics are further described in this poem. He is perspiring as a result of his laborious effort. Being an honest man who makes his living in honesty, he is proud and dignified. He has no fear of anyone as a result. These are all signs of his hard labour, which has given his body a rugged and powerful appearance. These signs also serve as a reminder of the challenging labour he conducts each day, work that has left its physical stamp on him. He is a man, nevertheless, and is not tempted by his difficult circumstances to engage in dishonest or unfair commercial practices. The blacksmith is a good individual who conducts himself honestly in business.

Meaning- The poet now describes how arduously the rural blacksmith toils with his hammers and tools day and night. His roar may be heard, as well as the sound of him dragging his large sleigh. He resides every day from sunrise to dusk.

Meaning- The poet is talking about how his art has a hypnotic effect on the kids. They can't wait to see his bellow strike the metal as they peer through the open door and watch the sparks fly from the flames. They like seeing the forms that the sparks and flames make in the air.

Meaning- The poet is attempting to demonstrate in these lines that the blacksmith is a member of society who engages in social practices and conventions. On Sundays, he attends church and sits with his pals. He smiles as he listens to his daughter sing in the choir.

Meaning- When he hears his child singing in the choir, it makes him cry because it makes him think of his wife. He still recalls his late wife's singing for him. He perceives in his daughter a likeness to or reflection of his wife. He thinks her singing and voice are wonderful, and it makes him cry. The blacksmith believes his daughter to be a mirror of his wife. These phrases highlight the blacksmith's honourable nature and his devotion to his family.

Meaning- So he goes about his daily life, working for a living, celebrating with his friends and daughter, and thinking of his late wife and her memories. He starts working in the morning and works all day to support himself. He would make an effort to try something new, finishing some tasks for the day and thinking about doing others the next day. These lines indicate that the blacksmith is always engaged in physical labour that is mindless and repetitive. He follows the same routine every day to make a living, and he sleeps comfortably.

Meaning- In the last stanza, the poet expresses gratitude to the blacksmith for a lesson that was taught to him secretly. The blacksmith's way of life teaches him that we are the architects of our own destiny and that we shape our future and lives every day with our own hands.

The Village Blacksmith Poem Summary

The poem begins with a description of the physical attributes of a local blacksmith, who has a large physique and hands that have developed into muscles as strong as iron bands. Longfellow continues by describing his sharp, black hair. The poet claims that the blacksmith succeeds because of his honesty, which enables him to perceive people for who they truly are, straightforwardly and without malice.

The poet goes on to say that the blacksmith never feels disrespect for his labour, whether he is working throughout the day, night, morning, or evening. The schoolchildren like seeing the flame that the blacksmith uses to make his iron as they return from school. On Sundays, the blacksmith also attends church services, where he enjoys hearing his daughter sing while praying. His daughter's voice, which gives him the impression that his wife in heaven is singing for him, is what makes him happy. The happy tears of the blacksmith won't stop flowing. The blacksmith, in the poet's opinion, is the picture of what a man is supposed to be. He begins work in the morning and completes it in the evening, and his life continues as a result. The poet instructs us to draw a lesson from the blacksmith's life in the last stanza. We must work hard to mould our lives the way he moulds the iron on his flame.

Conclusion

The poem is beautiful and effectively conveys Longfellow's philosophy. He constantly gave the smallest things in life attention, and he honoured them all in his poetry. Also, he stated in the last stanza that we are in charge of our own destiny and that we can change our future and way of life every day.