Nature by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Essay Example

It is evidently clear from the discussion that Longfellow describes the little child in the scenario as “half willing, half reluctant to be led.” (Longfellow, Nature) This phrase is symbolic and filled with imagery all at once. The image of the child, too tired to object, yet reluctant to go to bed is symbolic of man’s attitude toward nature and its fate. In this phrase, Longfellow conveys the underlying message that man realizes that when nature takes its course and death is near, he has no choice in the matter and he therefore submits.

Just as a child knows that sleep is necessary, he or she also knows that it is only a reprieve. For the Christian being, nature calls us to our deaths and delivers to eternal life. Just like a child, while the Christian being may be reluctant to interrupt the present, they succumb to the higher power secure in the knowledge that it is no more than a temporary reprieve. The child’s bed is therefore symbolic of death, a path ascertained by nature. Likewise, the end of the day is symbolic of the end of life, a natural process.

In even more poignant imagery, Longfellow uses a child’s “playthings” with man’s life long accomplishments and relations. Just as the fond mother interrupts the child’s day at a time when he or she may have not gathered their playthings in a satisfactory state, nature can call an end to man’s life at the most inconvenient time. By using imagery and symbolism in this manner Longfellow conveys the message that nature has its own plans for us independent of our own and will not reconcile its plans to suit ours.

In other words, as long as we live we are influenced and impacted by nature as it takes its course with our loved ones and all of our possessions. Loved ones become ill and recover or die.