The Arrow and the Song by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Full Text

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

Overview

Longfellow contrasts the invisible paths of actions and words, showing how both can return unexpectedly with lasting impact.

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1-4

The arrow vanishes quickly, a metaphor for actions whose outcomes are unseen.

Lines 5-8

The song is even harder to track, like a word or feeling released into the world.

Lines 9-12

Time reveals the effects of both: the arrow is found, and the song lives in a friend.

Themes

• Influence
• Memory
• Friendship
• Unseen consequences

Literary Devices

Metaphor

arrow and song — Actions and words are compared to projectiles with unseen trajectories.

Parallelism

I shot... I breathed... — Repetition reinforces the comparison.

Historical Context

Longfellow favored moral clarity and musicality, making this short lyric a popular teaching poem.