Merry Christmas!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “I Heard the Bells” is a powerful and emotional piece of poetry that speaks to the human experience of suffering and hope in the midst of turmoil. He wrote this poem in 1863, after his son went to fight in the American Civil War.

The poem depicts the narrator hearing the Christmas bells ringing out, but instead of feeling joy and celebration, the bells fill him with a sense of despair and sadness. The poem then shifts to a message of hope, as the narrator hears the bells proclaiming that “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep,” and that “the wrong shall fail, the right prevail.” Through its evocative imagery and poignant message, “I Heard the Bells” remains a timeless masterpiece of American poetry.

Sharing Wonder,

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I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play, 
And wild and sweet 
The words repeat 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

And thought how, as the day had come, 
The belfries of all Christendom 
Had rolled along 
The unbroken song 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

Till ringing, singing on its way, 
The world revolved from night to day, 
A voice, a chime, 
A chant sublime 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

Then from each black, accursed mouth 
The cannon thundered in the South, 
And with the sound 
The carols drowned 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

It was as if an earthquake rent 
The hearth-stones of a continent, 
And made forlorn 
The households born 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

And in despair I bowed my head; 
“There is no peace on earth,” I said; 
For hate is strong, 
And mocks the song 
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” 

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; 
The Wrong shall fail, 
The Right prevail, 
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

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