Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

The Cross of Snow

(1879)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882)

In the long, sleepless watches of the night,     A gentle face—the face of one long dead—     Looks at me from the wall, where round its head     The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light. Here in this room she died; and soul more white     Never through martyrdom of fire was led     To its repose; nor can in books be read     The legend of a life more benedight. There is a mountain in the distant West     That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines     Displays a cross of snow upon its side. Such is the cross I wear upon my breast     These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes     And seasons, changeless since the day she died.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Rowse, Samuel Worcester. Frances Appleton Longfellow. 1859. Longfellow National Historic Site, NPS. Jackson, William Henry. Mount of the Holy Cross. 1873.

Notes

Written July 10, 1879.

cross:

• (Merriam-Webster)
  1 a: a structure consisting of an upright with a transverse beam used especially by the ancient Romans for execution
  b often capitalized: the cross on which Jesus was crucified
  2 a: crucifixion
  b: an affliction that tries one's virtue, steadfastness, or patience
  3: a cruciform sign made to invoke the blessing of Christ especially by touching the forehead, breast, and shoulders
  4 a: a device composed of an upright bar traversed by a horizontal one; specifically : one used as a Christian symbol
  b capitalized: the Christian religion
  5: a structure (as a monument) shaped like or surmounted by a cross
  6: a figure or mark formed by two intersecting lines crossing at their midpoints; specifically : such a mark used as a signature
  7: a cruciform badge, emblem, or decoration
• 
  

6  martyrdom:

• martyr
• (Merriam-Webster)
  1: a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion
  2: a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle
  3: victim; especially: a great or constant sufferer <a martyr to asthma all his life — A. J. Cronin>
• (Etymology Online)
  Old English martyr, from Late Latin martyr, from Doric Greek martyr, earlier martys (genitive martyros) in Christian use "martyr," literally "witness," probably related to mermera "care, trouble," from mermairein "be anxious or thoughtful," from PIE *(s)mrtu- (cf. Sanskrit smarati "remember," Latin memor "mindful;" see memory).

8  benedight: blessed

• benediction
• (Etymology Online)
  c.1400, from Latin benedictionem (nominative benedictio), noun of action from bene dicere "to speak well of, bless," from bene "well" (see bene-) + dicere "to speak" (see diction).

12  cross I wear:

13  these eighteen years: Fanny Longfellow was severely burnt when her dress caught on fire in an accident on July 9, 1861. She died of her injuries the next day. When Longfellow wrote this sonnet on July 10, 1879, it was the eighteenth anniversary of her death.

Sample Student Responses to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Cross of Snow" 

Response 1:

Study Question:

Reference

Home  |  Introduction to the Study of English Fiction  |  Literary Terms  |  English Help  

Last updated June 27, 2013