The poem describes a village blacksmith and his daily routine. He works tirelessly at the forge from morning till night, heating and shaping metals with the bellows and enduring the heat. On Sundays, he attends church and takes joy in hearing his daughter sing in the choir, which reminds him of his late wife who used to sing. Though his work is difficult, he finds satisfaction in completing his tasks and earning a night's repose through his toil.

1. THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2. And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

3. He goes on Sunday to the
church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray
and preach,
He hears his daughter’s
voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart
rejoice.

4. It sounds to him like her mother’s voice,
Singing is Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more;
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

5. Toiling, rejoicing,
sorrowing,
Onward through life he
goes;
Each morning sees some
task begin,
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted,
something done,
Has earned a night’s
repose.

6. Thanks, thanks to thee, my
worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast
taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil
shaped
Each burning deed and
thought.

7. Forge - a furnace where metals are
heated and wrought
eg : The blacksmith’s forge was
once a feature of all villages.

8. Bellows - an equipment that blows a
strong current of air to make fire burn
more fiercely.
Eg : The blacksmith worked with the
bellows to make the piece of iron hot.

9. Chaff - hunk of rain separated
during threshing.
Eg : The first step is to separate the
chaff from the grain.

10. Thresh - to separate grains of corn,
rice, etc. from the rest of the plant
using a machine or by hitting it
with a tool.

11. Preach - to give a religious talk in a
public place, especially in a church
during a service.
Eg : She preached to the gathering
about forgiveness.

12. Toil - work extremely hard
eg : We toiled away.

13. SIMILES

14. • The slow swinging of his heavy sledge
is like a sexton ringing the village
bell.
• The burning sparks are like chaff
from a threshing floor.

15. • What does the blacksmith do on
Sundays? How does he feel?
• What is the blacksmith reminded of
when he hears his daughter’s voice
singing in the village choir?
• What would have happened to the
blacksmith’s wife? Pick out lines
from the poem to justify your
answer?
• Pick out the words related to a
blacksmith’s job from the poem?

16. ACTIVITY
Prepare a character
sketch of blacksmith.

17. The blacksmith is a hardworking man. He is
a mighty man. He has large sinewy hands.
The muscles of his brawny aims are strong
as iron bands. His hair is crisp, black and
long. His face is like the tan. He is engaging
in his work from morning to night. Every
Sunday he goes to church which makes his
heart rejoice. He earns money from his job
and leads a happy life.

18. ASSIGNMENT
Prepare a short
summary of the poem
“The Village
Blacksmith”.