The River of Life

The River of Life

by Thomas Campbell

The more we live, more brief appear
Our life’s succeeding stages;
A day to childhood seems a year,
And years like passing ages.

The gladsome current of our youth,
Ere passion yet disorders,
Steals lingering like a river smooth
Along its grassy borders.

But as the careworn cheek grows wan,
And sorrow’s shafts fly thicker,
Ye stars, that measure life to man,
Why seem your courses quicker?

When joys have lost their bloom and breath,
And life itself is vapid,
Why, as we reach the Falls of Death
Feel we its tide more rapid?

It may be strange-yet who would change
Time’s course to slower speeding,
When one by one our friends have gone,
And left our bosoms bleeding?

Heaven gives our years of fading strength
Indemnifying fleetness;
And those of youth, a seeming length,
Proportion’d to their sweetness.

Summary of The River of Life

  • Popularity of “The River of Life”: The poem ‘The River of Life’ was written by Thomas Campbell, a Scottish poet and writer. This interesting poetry was first published in his first book, The Pleasures of Hope, in 1799. The remarkable aspect of this poetic creation is how the poet recognizes the fleeting nature of old age but still finds optimism within it.
  • The River of Life” As a Representative of Time, Life and Old Age: The poet opens the poem with the consciousness that when we enjoy life and live it fully, it doesn’t feel like long tedious life. When we are young, time seems to stretch out endlessly, but as we grow older, it seems to fly by. However, he argues that this phenomenon specifically occurs during the youthful period, when life feels like having vibrant, grassy borders along the riverbank. As life gradually diminishes and time seems to slip away, the matter of what path a person should follow becomes increasingly important in this context. The poet further states that the question of the rapid death as well as the fleeting time seem critical but sometimes it seems strange that a bosom friend leaves us lugubrious while God gives us strength to tolerate it and feel the sweetness in this fleeting time.
  • Major Themes in “The River of Life”: Time, old age, and God’s omnipotence are three major themes of this poem. In the poem, there are inquiries raised regarding time and its rapid progression, as well as contemplations on mortality, life, and the paradoxical nature of our experiences. The poet finds it peculiar that when we are immersed in moments of pure bliss, time eludes us, whereas during moments of anguish, it seems to either pause or move at a sluggish pace. Even our closest pals can peace out when we’re old, and time seems to go by in a blink. This shows that God is all-powerful, that He has made this fleeting quality of time sweet for us.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used In The River of Life

literary devices help writers make their poetic rendition impressive and attractive. Thomas Campbell also used some literary devices in this poem, whose analysis is as follows.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /i/ in “And life itself is vapid” the sound of /ee/ in “Steals lingering like a river smooth”.
  2. Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration in the shape of initial consonant sounds of the neighboring words, such as the sound of /s/ in “slower speeding”.
  3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /g/ and /n/ in “It may be strange-yet who would change” and the sound of /m/ and /r/ in “The more we live, more brief appear”.
  4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

The gladsome current of our youth,
Ere passion yet disorders,
Steals lingering like a river smooth
Along its grassy borders.

  1. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Thomas Campbell used imagery in this poem such as “The gladsome current of our youth”, “Ere passion yet disorders” and “Heaven gives our years of fading strength”.
  2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used the extended metaphor of time here to highlight youth and old age.
  3. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of symbols such as Heaven, youth, old age, and death to highlight the reality of life.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The River of Life

 Poetic devices make poems unique in structure and rhyming pattern. The analysis of the poetic devices used in this poem shows this fact is as follows.

  1. Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of descriptive diction with a serious and tragic tone.
  2. Rhyme Scheme: The poem strictly follows the ABAB rhyme scheme in all of its stanzas.
  3. Quatrain: The poem shows the use of a quatrain, a four-lined Persian borrowed stanza.
  4. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are total six stanzas with each having four verses.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “The River of Life” are appropriate to quote when talking about the blessings of Heaven.

Heaven gives our years of fading strength
Indemnifying fleetness;
And those of youth, a seeming length,
Proportion’d to their sweetness.