How we cite our quotes: (verse)
Quote #4
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides (lines 82-83)
There's a lot of running around in this poem, so we want to make sure you take a second to check out the quiet moments, too. It would be really easy to get rid of these lines because they don't do anything to keep the plot moving. If this were an action movie, the scene would probably end up being taken out. But even action movies need moments where the audience can stop to breathe and look around a little. In order to make the action hit even harder, Longfellow drops in some quiet natural moments, giving us a quick rest and some time to think.
Quote #5
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown (lines 105-106)
Another quiet spot, but also a warning of what's to come. The morning that comes with that breeze is going to bring a lot of blood and suffering. Like the moon earlier in the poem, this breeze is quiet and natural but also a little spooky. The brown grass is another detail that seems both peaceful and gloomy. Grass in April in New England would still be brown, but we also get a hint of death here.