A TARTAR SONG by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A father — a strong Khan — begs his son to come back from the wilderness, promising gifts and freedom, but the son turns down every offer.
The poem
I "He is gone to the desert land I can see the shining mane Of his horse on the distant plain, As he rides with his Kossak band! "Come back, rebellious one! Let thy proud heart relent; Come back to my tall, white tent, Come back, my only son! "Thy hand in freedom shall Cast thy hawks, when morning breaks, On the swans of the Seven Lakes, On the lakes of Karajal. "I will give thee leave to stray And pasture thy hunting steeds In the long grass and the reeds Of the meadows of Karaday. "I will give thee my coat of mail, Of softest leather made, With choicest steel inlaid; Will not all this prevail?" II "This hand no longer shall Cast my hawks, when morning breaks, On the swans of the Seven Lakes, On the lakes of Karajal. "I will no longer stray And pasture my hunting steeds In the long grass and the reeds Of the meadows of Karaday. "Though thou give me thy coat of mall, Of softest leather made, With choicest steel inlaid, All this cannot prevail. "What right hast thou, O Khan, To me, who am mine own, Who am slave to God alone, And not to any man? "God will appoint the day When I again shall be By the blue, shallow sea, Where the steel-bright sturgeons play. "God, who doth care for me, In the barren wilderness, On unknown hills, no less Will my companion be. "When I wander lonely and lost In the wind; when I watch at night Like a hungry wolf, and am white And covered with hoar-frost; "Yea, wheresoever I be, In the yellow desert sands, In mountains or unknown lands, Allah will care for me!"
A father — a strong Khan — begs his son to come back from the wilderness, promising gifts and freedom, but the son turns down every offer. He asserts that he belongs to no one but God, believing that Allah will watch over him wherever he goes. It's a poem exploring the tension between family loyalty and the fundamental desire to live life on one's own terms.
Line-by-line
"He is gone to the desert land / I can see the shining mane"
"Come back, rebellious one! / Let thy proud heart relent"
"Thy hand in freedom shall / Cast thy hawks, when morning breaks"
"I will give thee leave to stray / And pasture thy hunting steeds"
"I will give thee my coat of mail, / Of softest leather made"
"This hand no longer shall / Cast my hawks, when morning breaks"
"Though thou give me thy coat of mail, / Of softest leather made"
"What right hast thou, O Khan, / To me, who am mine own"
"God will appoint the day / When I again shall be"
"God, who doth care for me, / In the barren wilderness"
"When I wander lonely and lost / In the wind; when I watch at night"
"Yea, wheresoever I be, / In the yellow desert sands"
Tone & mood
The poem operates on two simultaneous tones. The father's voice is both urgent and tender, almost pleading—there's genuine love beneath each bribe he offers. In contrast, the son's voice remains calm, measured, and utterly steadfast. This contrast creates the poem's tension: rather than a shouting match, it's a quiet, heartbreaking conversation where one side has run out of options.
Symbols & metaphors
- The coat of mail — The Khan's most cherished possession serves as a symbol of his authority and protection. By offering it to his son, he is essentially extending an inheritance — and the son's rejection indicates that he wishes to distance himself from the power dynamics his father embodies.
- The hawks and falconry — Falconry in Central Asian nomadic culture signified noble status and freedom. The father presents it as a symbol of a good life during his reign; the son’s rejection of it indicates his unwillingness to accept even enjoyable freedom if it comes with conditions.
- The desert and wilderness — For the father, the desert feels like a perilous and desolate land where his son will endure hardship. For the son, it's a realm where he fully embraces his identity and experiences a close relationship with God. This shared landscape evokes entirely different meanings for each of them.
- The Seven Lakes of Karajal — A specific, named location that features in both the father's promises and the son's rejections. Its repeated mention transforms it into a symbol of all that the father can provide — beauty, abundance, and a sense of belonging — as well as everything the son is opting to abandon.
- The hungry wolf — The son's self-image in the toughest conditions: alone, vigilant, relying on instinct to survive. This isn't a picture of self-pity — wolves are hunters, not victims. It reflects the price of freedom while fully acknowledging it.
- Hoar-frost — A physical marker of extreme cold and isolation, yet also of endurance. Covered in frost while still standing, it serves as a quiet symbol of resilience — the son will face nature's challenges and emerge stronger.
Historical context
Longfellow wrote this poem as part of his passion for world literature and oral traditions. Over his career, he translated and adapted poetry from various cultures, and "A Tartar Song" showcases his interest in Central Asian nomadic life — the Kossaks (Cossacks), the vast steppe landscape, and Islamic faith. The poem's format, featuring a father's plea that his son answers stanza by stanza, mirrors the call-and-response style found in folk poetry from many cultures. Longfellow was creating this work at a time when American readers knew little about Central Asia, making the poem a unique glimpse into a far-off world. The son's assertion — "I am slave to God alone, and not to any man" — would have struck a chord with American readers influenced by ideals of individual freedom, despite the poem's setting being completely outside their experience.
FAQ
Part I features the father, a Khan (a Central Asian ruler or chieftain), imploring his son to come back home. In Part II, the son responds to each of his father's proposals with a firm refusal. The opening stanza of Part I could either be a concise third-person narrator establishing the context or the father discussing his son before speaking to him directly.
Khan is a title found in Central Asian, Mongol, and Turkic cultures that refers to a ruler, chief, or lord. By referring to his father as "O Khan" instead of "Father," the son emphasizes that he sees him as a political authority whose power he opposes, rather than as a parent from whom he seeks affection.
The mirroring is intentional. The son takes every one of his father's offers — the hawks, the meadows, the coat of mail — and echoes them nearly verbatim before declining. This demonstrates that he's paying attention and is rejecting the offers with a clear understanding of what he's letting go, rather than out of ignorance or haste.
The poem doesn't portray him that way. He never disrespects his father or belittles the gifts he received. His stance is rooted in philosophy: no one should have the right to own another person, even if it’s out of love and generosity. His refusal is based on principle, not indifference.
The son's faith in Allah is what supports his independence. He feels secure without his father's protection, trusting that God will watch over him in the wilderness. For him, religion isn't merely a source of comfort — it's the foundation of his freedom, as it provides him with an authority that surpasses any earthly Khan.
These place names from Central Asia add a tangible, real-world element to the poem. Longfellow incorporates them to highlight the beauty of the steppe landscape and to underscore the father's offers as truly valuable—these are not just vague promises; they refer to specific, enchanting locations.
The poem has two numbered sections, each containing five-line stanzas that follow a consistent rhyme scheme. The call-and-response format—where Part II responds to Part I stanza by stanza—reflects a style found in folk and oral poetry traditions from various cultures. Longfellow employs this technique to evoke a sense of dialogue that resembles a song or chant.
It contends that true freedom isn't something that can be handed over — it must be claimed. The father provides the son with the freedom to hunt and explore, but that freedom is still bestowed by another person, which means it can be revoked. The son's freedom originates from within, rooted in his faith and his determination not to be owned by anyone.