sunrise on the hills short summary
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Summary of Sunrise on the Hills
The poem consists of three stanzas of varying length. The first stanza is made up of eighteen lines. The second stanza is made up of twelve lines. And the third stanza is made up of six Hence, the entire poem consists of thirty-six lines in total.
1st stanza:
In this stanza, the poet describes a visit of his to the hills. On this visit, he stood still and looked up at the sky, which seemed to form an arch in his field of vision. This entire arch of the sky was lit up with the sun’s glow as it was getting ready to rise. The woods that covered the hills that Longfellow was visiting, and the valleys that stretched out between and beneath them were also lit up. A soft breeze was blowing over the landscape. As he was standing on the summit of a mountain, the poet could see clouds floating below the level at which he himself was. The sun was shining over the clouds as well as they appeared midway between the summit and the ground level, and around the forests that grew all over the hills. The clouds also have their own glory in Longfellow’s opinion, as does everything else – great or small – on this earth. However, that glory had paled in comparison to the glory of the rising sun. The poet imagines that the sun and the clouds were locked in battle, as so many armies have been through the ages, and that finally the sun has won. The clouds have been defeated, and are hiding away now. The poet also noticed other things around him as well. He saw how every mountain around him seemed to raise up a lance with its pointed tip shattering the sky above it. Every cliff was bare, except for one where a pine tree stood still awaiting the sunlight. This pine tree appeared to have been destroyed, split into half and bereft of all leaves, as if it had been struck by lightning. Suddenly, in the midst of all this, the clouds disappeared. The poet imagines the clouds to be a veil covering the face of a woman as soon as the clouds are lifted, the valley beneath shines in the sunlight. Along this valley, a river was flowing. A part of the river fell under the shade cast by trees of the hilly forest, and another part of it shone in the sunlight as a waterfall was created along its length. Far above all this, as the day was lengthening, the poet saw a bittern flying in a spiral and chirping away.
2nd stanza:
In this stanza, the poet continues to describe his visit to the hills and chooses to focus specifically on the river flowing beneath him. Though the waters were so far away from him, their current was so strong and swift that he could hear the waters hitting the rocks on the shore. The waters of the river had also formed a lake, but here the waters were still and there was no noise at all. The light and had on the beach next to it formed and optical illusion and fooled the poet into thinking that the beach was in fact silver in colour. Every single sound was echoed by the hills and the poet in particular could hear the sound of a bell in some distant village echoed back to him with a subsequent increase in volume. The poet could also hear the sound of a horn and of people making merry. In tandem with the sudden disturbance caused by the blowing of the horn, a thin line of smoke could also be seen rising through the branches of the trees covering the hills
3rd stanza:
In this stanza, the poet tells his readers what he has learnt from his visit to the hills. He tells them that if they are ever beset with difficulties and sorrows, if they are tired of the path their lives have taken, they should come to the hills. If they wish to forget their troubles, they should come to the hills for the hills can teach them a lesson on how to stop themselves from losing hope. Even if they are to start crying, they would not be able to ignore the beauty of Nature in such a landscape.
Answer:
1st stanza-
In this stanza, the poet describes a visit of his to the hills. On this visit, he stood still and looked up at the sky, which seemed to form an arch in his field of vision. This entire arch of the sky was lit up with the sun’s glow as it was getting ready to rise. The woods that covered the hills that Longfellow was visiting, and the valleys that stretched out between and beneath them were also lit up. A soft breeze was blowing over the landscape. As he was standing on the summit of a mountain, the poet could see clouds floating below the level at which he himself was. The sun was shining over the clouds as well as they appeared midway between the summit and the ground level, and around the forests that grew all over the hills. The clouds also have their own glory in Longfellow’s opinion, as does everything else – great or small – on this earth. However, that glory had paled in comparison to the glory of the rising sun. The poet imagines that the sun and the clouds were locked in battle, as so many armies have been through the ages, and that finally the sun has won. The clouds have been defeated, and are hiding away now. The poet also noticed other things around him as well. He saw how every mountain around him seemed to raise up a lance with its pointed tip shattering the sky above it. Every cliff was bare, except for one where a pine tree stood still awaiting the sunlight. This pine tree appeared to have been destroyed, split into half and bereft of all leaves, as if it had been struck by lightning. Suddenly, in the midst of all this, the clouds disappeared. The poet imagines the clouds to be a veil covering the face of a woman as soon as the clouds are lifted, the valley beneath shines in the sunlight. Along this valley, a river was flowing. A part of the river fell under the shade cast by trees of the hilly forest, and another part of it shone in the sunlight as a waterfall was created along its length. Far above all this, as the day was lengthening, the poet saw a bittern flying in a spiral and chirping away.
2nd stanza:
In this stanza, the poet continues to describe his visit to the hills and chooses to focus specifically on the river flowing beneath him. Though the waters were so far away from him, their current was so strong and swift that he could hear the waters hitting the rocks on the shore. The waters of the river had also formed a lake, but here the waters were still and there was no noise at all. The light and had on the beach next to it formed and optical illusion and fooled the poet into thinking that the beach was in fact silver in colour. Every single sound was echoed by the hills and the poet in particular could hear the sound of a bell in some distant village echoed back to him with a subsequent increase in volume. The poet could also hear the sound of a horn and of people making merry. In tandem with the sudden disturbance caused by the blowing of the horn, a thin line of smoke could also be seen rising through the branches of the trees covering the hills
3rd stanza:
In this stanza, the poet tells his readers what he has learnt from his visit to the hills. He tells them that if they are ever beset with difficulties and sorrows, if they are tired of the path their lives have taken, they should come to the hills. If they wish to forget their troubles, they should come to the hills for the hills can teach them a lesson on how to stop themselves from losing hope. Even if they are to start crying, they would not be able to ignore the beauty of Nature in such a landscape.
Explanation:
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