Poetry – The River Of Life

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 lower 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.

— Thomas Campbell

The River Of Life poem analysis

The poem “The River of Life” by Thomas Campbell is a reflection on the passage of time and the stages of human life. The poet compares life to a river that flows from its source to its destination, changing its speed and appearance along the way. The poem has six stanzas, each with four lines and an ABAB rhyme scheme.

In the first stanza, the poet states that the more we live, the shorter our life seems. He contrasts childhood, when a day feels like a year, with adulthood, when years feel like passing ages. He uses the word “stages” to suggest that life is a journey with different phases.

In the second stanza, he describes the youth as a “gladsome current” that flows smoothly and peacefully, without any disturbance from passion or emotion. He uses the imagery of “grassy borders” to evoke a sense of beauty and tranquility.

In the third stanza, he shifts to a darker tone and asks why the stars, which symbolize fate or destiny, seem to move faster as we grow older and face more troubles and sorrows. He uses the words “care-worn” and “thicker” to emphasize the intensity of suffering in old age.

In the fourth stanza, he continues to question why time seems to accelerate when we reach the end of life, when joys have faded and life has become dull and meaningless. He uses the metaphor of “the Falls of Death” to compare death to a waterfall, where the river plunges down with great force and speed.

In the fifth stanza, he wonders if anyone would want to slow down time, when all our friends have gone and left us alone and heartbroken. He implies that there is no point in prolonging life when there is nothing left to enjoy or cherish.

In the sixth and final stanza, he offers a consolation and a justification for the rapidity of time in old age. He says that heaven gives us this gift as a compensation for our fading strength and as a proportion to our sweetness of youth. He suggests that time is relative and subjective, depending on how we perceive and experience it.

The poem expresses a melancholic and philosophical view of life, using the river as a powerful symbol for its flow and change. The poet explores the themes of time, aging, death, and happiness, and shows how they are interrelated and influenced by external and internal factors. The poem invites us to reflect on our own lives and how we value them.