NATHANAEL. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This short poem portrays a scorching summer day in a grain field, where the speaker feels hungry and tempted to grab some wheat to eat.
The poem
The summer sun grows hot: I am anhungered. How cheerily the Sabbath-breaking quail Pipes in the corn, and bids us to his Feast Of Wheat Sheaves! How the bearded, ripening ears Toss in the roofless temple of the air; As if the unseen hand of some High-Priest Waved them before Mount Tabor as an altar! It were no harm, if we should pluck and eat.
This short poem portrays a scorching summer day in a grain field, where the speaker feels hungry and tempted to grab some wheat to eat. Longfellow presents the scene as an outdoor religious ceremony, transforming the open sky into a temple and a nearby mountain into an altar. The title "Nathanael" connects the moment to the biblical disciple, subtly questioning whether fulfilling a basic human need can truly be considered a sin.
Line-by-line
The summer sun grows hot: I am anhungered. / How cheerily the Sabbath-breaking quail
Pipes in the corn, and bids us to his Feast / Of Wheat Sheaves! How the bearded, ripening ears
Toss in the roofless temple of the air; / As if the unseen hand of some High-Priest
Waved them before Mount Tabor as an altar! / It were no harm, if we should pluck and eat.
Tone & mood
The tone is warm and respectfully thoughtful. Longfellow playfully allows the quail to guide the discussion, yet the poem doesn’t resort to winks or jokes — it earnestly progresses toward its theological message. By the last line, the mood is serene and confident, reflecting a sense of assurance that arises not from rebellion, but from the belief that nature and scripture convey the same truth.
Symbols & metaphors
- The quail — The quail embodies a natural, guilt-free hunger. It unknowingly breaks the Sabbath without facing any consequences, serving as a living reminder that hunger is innocent. Additionally, it resonates with an Old Testament story: God sent quail to feed the starving Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16).
- The roofless temple / open sky — By referring to the sky as a "roofless temple," Longfellow blurs the line between sacred and natural spaces. Worship isn't limited to a building; the entire world serves as a sanctuary, and everyday actions within it can become expressions of faith.
- The ripening wheat — The grain symbolizes both physical nourishment and spiritual sustenance. Presented like an offering at an altar, it connects our basic need for food with the priestly act of giving thanks — implying that the act of eating can itself be a way to worship.
- Mount Tabor — Tabor is the mountain where many believe the Transfiguration of Christ took place, marking a significant moment of divine revelation. By using it as the altar for this outdoor temple, the scene transforms from just having a snack in a field to experiencing something truly sacred.
Historical context
Longfellow included this poem in his collection *Christus: A Mystery* (1872), which is a sweeping dramatic trilogy that delves into the history of Christianity. "Nathanael" is part of the first section, "The Divine Tragedy," which retells stories from the Gospels in verse form. The poem is inspired by Matthew 12:1–8, where Jesus defends his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath, emphasizing that human need is more important than ritual law. Nathanael, one of the apostles (often associated with Bartholomew), is given a moment of quiet, sensory reflection by Longfellow. This poem captures the mid-19th-century American inclination—shared by figures like Emerson and Whitman—to see the sacred in nature rather than limited to church spaces.
FAQ
Nathanael is introduced in the Gospel of John as one of the first disciples called by Jesus. He is commonly associated with the apostle Bartholomew. Nathanael is well-known for the moment when Jesus mentions having seen him sitting under a fig tree before their meeting — a revelation that leads Nathanael to believe Jesus is the Son of God. Longfellow uses this name to root the poem in the Gospel's setting of direct, open-air interactions with the divine.
The poem reflects on Matthew 12:1–8 (along with similar accounts in Mark and Luke), where Jesus and his disciples stroll through grain fields on the Sabbath and pick wheat to eat. The Pharisees challenge them, claiming this violates Sabbath law. In reply, Jesus references David eating the temple bread and asserts that "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Longfellow's poem captures the tension just before this clash, presenting it from the disciples' perspective.
"Anhungered" is an old English term that means "hungry." Longfellow uses it to add a touch of biblical style to the poem—it's found in earlier English translations of the Gospels—while still conveying a sense of immediacy and physicality.
The quail sings and feeds on the Sabbath, blissfully unaware of any religious laws. This creates a gentle irony while also making a serious statement. It breaks the Sabbath simply by existing and being hungry. Longfellow uses the bird to illustrate that nature doesn’t follow human-made religious rules, and this isn’t a moral failing; it’s just how living things operate.
Mount Tabor in northern Israel is traditionally linked to the Transfiguration, where Jesus is seen in brilliant light with Moses and Elijah. By designating it as the "altar" of the poem's outdoor temple, Longfellow imbues the ordinary grain field with a similar feeling of divine presence. The mountain looms in the background, transforming the entire landscape into a sacred space.
The poem suggests, using vivid imagery instead of argument, that fulfilling natural hunger isn't sinful. It portrays nature as a temple, indicating that eating from it is more of a sacred act than a wrongdoing. The last line, "It were no harm, if we should pluck and eat," softly wraps up this idea: human needs align with divine gifts.
"Nathanael" is a section of *Christus: A Mystery* (1872), a three-part dramatic poem that Longfellow spent decades developing. The first part, "The Divine Tragedy," recounts episodes from Jesus' life. This poem is part of Longfellow's broader effort to reimagine the Gospels as vibrant, sensory experiences rather than mere distant scripture.
Longfellow wasn't a Transcendentalist like Emerson or Thoreau, but this poem reflects their shared belief that the natural world is filled with spiritual significance. The "roofless temple" of the sky, the High Priest wind, and the altar mountain — all of these shift the sacred away from organized religion and into the immediate experience of the physical world, embodying the essence of Transcendentalism.