The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Rainy Day

42 Comments

  1. karen says:

    I like it when I first read it.

  2. Ronnie Tambunan says:

    this poem is an epic masterpiece! we should be optimistic about our entire life! there’s still a bright path outside there! use your inextinguishable flashlight well on the right streets! Cheers!

  3. Joseph says:

    learned this poem in English class in 1933. I have repeated it thousands of times with great pleasure. I love the last stanza.

  4. Paul says:

    A group made a song from this poem. It’s called Rainy Days from Late Night Alumni. The singer’s tone is haunting but its also optimistic. Check it out!

  5. 5th Graders at Highlands says:

    This was a very deep poem. We thought it was somewhat similar to “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”. It was touching and felt like a sad poem.

  6. Maricela says:

    One of the most beautiful poems i have ever read…..

  7. Bob says:

    This poem is really deeep, and I love the theme of hope. My friend liked it so much that she choreographed it. Yay choreography!!!

  8. Uniuqe Jones says:

    I like this poem…..it is very intresting to me……

  9. Amber says:

    I liked the poem. It was easy to understand.

  10. Julian says:

    I really enjoyed this poem.Not cuz it’s short but it really is true what he’s saying

  11. Dear Anonymous says:

    This is now officially my favourite poem. It’s very alluring.

  12. Heather says:

    wow! my new fav poem- the turn WAS kind-of expected… but the way he said it? i applaud longfellow. as for the shortness? didn’t do much for me. i would’ve liked it longer… maybe that’s why you could expect the turn…?

  13. Richard says:

    Very goof poem helped me with my school project

  14. JEFF says:

    FOR 40+ YEARS, I HAVE REMEMBER THIS SHORT POEM….WHEN I AM BLUE OR DEPRESSED, IT ENCOURAGES ME WITH LAST VERSE….

  15. jenny says:

    i like it! ! ! ! very short! ! ! !

  16. kimberly says:

    The poem was really good!

  17. christina says:

    nice poem!

  18. Kristen says:

    I have no comment but i like the shortness of it for the fact that its for school and i have to report on it haha ~*~Kristen~*~ P.S. it was a good poem 😛

  19. shaniqua says:

    it is short and no big words, sweet

  20. Rick Copeland says:

    What memories!! 50 years ago in 7th grade we read and had to recite from memory this poem. At our 45 HS reunion we were trying to see who could remember the most poems from our 7th grade class. All I could remember was “the days are dark and dreary.” Thank you

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