JOACHIM. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
A monk named Joachim, residing in a hilltop convent in Italy, contemplates his life's work: writing three sacred books that he believes outline a significant three-part plan for human history, beginning with the age of God the Father, moving through the age of the Son, and anticipating a future age of the Holy Spirit and Love.
The poem
The wind is rising; it seizes and shakes The doors and window-blinds and makes Mysterious moanings in the halls; The convent-chimneys seem almost The trumpets of some heavenly host, Setting its watch upon our walls! Where it listeth, there it bloweth; We hear the sound, but no man knoweth Whence it cometh or whither it goeth, And thus it is with the Holy Ghost. O breath of God! O my delight In many a vigil of the night, Like the great voice in Patmos heard By John, the Evangelist of the Word, I hear thee behind me saying: Write In a book the things that thou hast seen, The things that are, and that have been, And the things that shall hereafter be! This convent, on the rocky crest Of the Calabrian hills, to me A Patmos is wherein I rest; While round about me like a sea The white mists roll, and overflow The world that lies unseen below In darkness and in mystery. Here in the Spirit, in the vast Embrace of God's encircling arm, Am I uplifted from all harm The world seems something far away, Something belonging to the Past, A hostelry, a peasant's farm, That lodged me for a night or day, In which I care not to remain, Nor, having left, to see again. Thus, in the hollow of Gods hand I dwelt on sacred Tabor's height, When as a simple acolyte I journeyed to the Holy Land, A pilgrim for my master's sake, And saw the Galilean Lake, And walked through many a village street That once had echoed to his feet. There first I heard the great command, The voice behind me saying: Write! And suddenly my soul became Illumined by a flash of flame, That left imprinted on my thought The image I in vain had sought, And which forever shall remain; As sometimes from these windows high, Gazing at midnight on the sky Black with a storm of wind and rain, I have beheld a sudden glare Of lightning lay the landscape bare, With tower and town and hill and plain Distinct and burnt into my brain, Never to be effaced again! And I have written. These volumes three, The Apocalypse, the Harmony Of the Sacred Scriptures, new and old, And the Psalter with Ten Strings, enfold Within their pages, all and each, The Eternal Gospel that I teach. Well I remember the Kingdom of Heaven Hath been likened to a little leaven Hidden in two measures of meal, Until it leavened the whole mass; So likewise will it come to pass With the doctrines that I here conceal. Open and manifest to me The truth appears, and must be told; All sacred mysteries are threefold; Three Persons in the Trinity, Three ages of Humanity, And holy Scriptures likewise three, Of Fear, of Wisdom, and of Love; For Wisdom that begins in Fear Endeth in Love; the atmosphere In which the soul delights to be And finds that perfect liberty Which cometh only from above. In the first Age, the early prime And dawn of all historic time, The Father reigned; and face to face He spake with the primeval race. Bright Angels, on his errands sent, Sat with the patriarch in his tent; His prophets thundered in the street; His lightnings flashed, his hailstorms beat; In earthquake and in flood and flame, In tempest and in cloud He came! The fear of God is in his Book; The pages of the Pentateuch Are full of the terror of his name. Then reigned the Son; his Covenant Was peace on earth, good-will to man; With Him the reign of Law began. He was the Wisdom and the Word, And sent his Angels Ministrant, Unterrified and undeterred, To rescue souls forlorn and lost, The troubled, tempted, tempest-tost To heal, to comfort, and to teach. The fiery tongues of Pentecost His symbols were, that they should preach In every form of human speech From continent to continent. He is the Light Divine, whose rays Across the thousand years unspent Shine through the darkness of our days, And touch with their celestial fires Our churches and our convent spires. His Book is the New Testament. These Ages now are of the Past; And the Third Age begins at last. The coming of the Holy Ghost, The reign of Grace, the reign of Love Brightens the mountain-tops above, And the dark outline of the coast. Already the whole land is white With Convent walls, as if by night A snow had fallen on hill and height! Already from the streets and marts Of town and traffic, and low cares, Men climb the consecrated stairs With weary feet, and bleeding hearts; And leave the world and its delights, Its passions, struggles, and despairs, For contemplation and for prayers In cloister-cells of coenobites. Eternal benedictions rest Upon thy name, Saint Benedict! Founder of convents in the West, Who built on Mount Cassino's crest In the Land of Labor, thine eagle's nest! May I be found not derelict In aught of faith or godly fear, If I have written, in many a page, The Gospel of the coming age, The Eternal Gospel men shall hear. Oh may I live resembling thee, And die at last as thou hast died; So that hereafter men may see, Within the choir, a form of air, Standing with arms outstretched in prayer, As one that hath been crucified! My work is finished; I am strong In faith and hope and charity; For I have written the things I see, The things that have been and shall be, Conscious of right, nor fearing wrong; Because I am in love with Love, And the sole thing I hate is Hate; For Hate is death; and Love is life, A peace, a splendor from above; And Hate, a never-ending strife, A smoke, a blackness from the abyss Where unclean serpents coil and hiss! Love is the Holy Ghost within Hate the unpardonable sin! Who preaches otherwise than this Betrays his Master with a kiss!
A monk named Joachim, residing in a hilltop convent in Italy, contemplates his life's work: writing three sacred books that he believes outline a significant three-part plan for human history, beginning with the age of God the Father, moving through the age of the Son, and anticipating a future age of the Holy Spirit and Love. The poem serves as his personal testimony — a blend of spiritual autobiography and theological manifesto. It concludes with a passionate assertion that Love is life, while Hate is the only unforgivable sin.
Line-by-line
The wind is rising; it seizes and shakes / The doors and window-blinds and makes
O breath of God! O my delight / In many a vigil of the night,
This convent, on the rocky crest / Of the Calabrian hills, to me
Thus, in the hollow of God's hand / I dwelt on sacred Tabor's height,
And I have written. These volumes three, / The Apocalypse, the Harmony
Open and manifest to me / The truth appears, and must be told;
In the first Age, the early prime / And dawn of all historic time,
These Ages now are of the Past; / And the Third Age begins at last.
Eternal benedictions rest / Upon thy name, Saint Benedict!
Tone & mood
The tone shifts through various registers in the poem. It begins with a sense of awe — capturing the wind, the mists, and the feeling of standing on the brink of something immense. In the middle sections, it takes on a more personal and warm tone as Joachim reflects on his youth and his calling. The theological parts exude confidence and clarity, presenting the voice of a man who feels he has witnessed something profound and must express it straightforwardly. The final stanza hits the hardest: it builds to a near-ecstatic certainty, laying out the Love-versus-Hate conflict in the most direct terms. There’s no room for doubt or hesitation here — just pure conviction.
Symbols & metaphors
- The wind — The opening windstorm represents both actual weather and the Holy Spirit — the Greek word *pneuma* refers to both wind and spirit. The wind shaking the convent is the same breath of God that flows through history and the prophet's soul.
- Lightning — The flash of lightning that sears a landscape into memory is Longfellow's metaphor for divine inspiration: abrupt, involuntary, all-encompassing, and lasting. It illustrates how one fleeting moment of insight can shape a whole career.
- Patmos — The island where John wrote Revelation serves as a model for any site of sacred solitude. Joachim's hilltop in Calabria is his Patmos — a place removed from everyday life where he can hear the divine voice distinctly.
- The three ages — Fear, Wisdom, and Love correspond to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, respectively. They aren't merely theological concepts; they represent a narrative of human history evolving from fear to freedom and from law to grace.
- The leaven — Borrowed from Christ's parable in Matthew 13, the hidden leaven symbolizes Joachim's own doctrines — small and hidden, yet set to change everything around them. He implies: the world may not grasp what I have written yet, but it will.
- Love and Hate — In the final stanza, these concepts turn into cosmic opposites: Love represents the Holy Spirit, life itself, and light; Hate embodies death, smoke, and the abyss where serpents coil. The poem concludes by reducing all of Joachim's complex theology into this simple binary.
Historical context
Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135–1202) was a Calabrian monk and mystic whose ideas about the three ages of history made him a significant and sometimes controversial figure in the medieval church. He believed that a future Age of the Holy Spirit would replace the institutional church, a doctrine that was eventually condemned, although he was never officially labeled a heretic. Longfellow included this character in his poem "Joachim," part of his 1872 collection, *Christus: A Mystery*, which is a large three-part dramatic exploration of Christianity's history. "Joachim" is featured in the second part, *The Golden Legend*, which takes place during the medieval era. Longfellow was captivated by Joachim as someone who merged authentic mystical insight with intellectual drive — a man convinced that he had received a vision of the overarching narrative of sacred history and felt an urgent need to document it.
FAQ
He is Joachim of Fiore, a genuine 12th-century monk and mystic from Italy. He resided in a monastery in Calabria, located at the toe of Italy's boot, and authored three significant theological works that propose human history is divided into three ages, mirroring the Trinity. Longfellow crafts a dramatic monologue for him, allowing him to address the reader directly.
The Age of the Father refers to the Old Testament era, characterized by fear, power, and law. The Age of the Son is the New Testament era, marked by wisdom, peace, and light. Joachim thought he was witnessing the beginning of the upcoming Age of the Holy Spirit, which will be defined by love, grace, and contemplation.
John the Apostle wrote the Book of Revelation while he was on the Greek island of Patmos, where he was exiled. He heard a divine voice telling him to write down what he saw. Similarly, Joachim receives the same command and views his secluded convent on the hilltop as his own Patmos—a place cut off from the world where he can gain prophetic insight.
These are his genuine historical writings: the *Liber Concordiae* (Harmony of the Scriptures), the *Expositio in Apocalypsim* (commentary on the Apocalypse), and the *Psalterium Decem Chordarum* (Psalter with Ten Strings). All three have survived and had a real impact on medieval theology.
Joachim likens a moment of divine inspiration to a flash of lightning cutting through the darkness of night — in that brief instant, everything is laid bare with complete clarity: the tower, the town, the hill, the plain, all seared into memory forever. This image stands out in the poem, illustrating how a single spiritual experience can shape a whole life.
After pages of detailed theology, Joachim simplifies everything to its essence: Love represents the Holy Spirit, the source of life; Hate signifies death and the one sin that cannot be forgiven. The last line — *Who preaches otherwise than this / Betrays his Master with a kiss* — references Judas, raising the stakes significantly. This reflects Joachim's belief that his intricate doctrine boils down to a single idea.
Benedict of Nursia established Western monasticism in the 6th century, and his Rule shaped the convent life that Joachim experienced. By praying to Benedict and wishing to die as he did — arms spread wide in prayer like a crucified figure — Joachim aligns himself with a long line of holy men who devoted their lives completely to God. This act reflects humility following a poem brimming with prophetic confidence.
Yes. Longfellow writes completely in Joachim's voice, allowing the monk to share his theology, memories, and beliefs directly. This excerpt is from *Christus: A Mystery*, a lengthy dramatic piece meant to be read as if a character is speaking—similar to a soliloquy in a play.