RAPHAEL. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This short poem is narrated by Raphael, the archangel known for his ties to the sun and healing.
The poem
I am the Angel of the Sun, Whose flaming wheels began to run When God Almighty's breath Said to the darkness and the Night, Let there he light! and there was light! I bring the gift of Faith.
This short poem is narrated by Raphael, the archangel known for his ties to the sun and healing. He proclaims himself as the bearer of divine light at Creation. Longfellow references the Book of Genesis, specifically God's command "Let there be light," to link the angel's universal purpose to the blessing of Faith. In just six concise lines, the poem suggests that light and faith are intertwined: both serve as gifts that dispel darkness.
Line-by-line
I am the Angel of the Sun, / Whose flaming wheels began to run
When God Almighty's breath / Said to the darkness and the Night,
Let there he light! and there was light! / I bring the gift of Faith.
Tone & mood
The tone is serious and assertive — Raphael speaks with the steady confidence of someone who witnessed the dawn of time. There’s no uncertainty or wavering in the poem. The exclamation marks in the Genesis quotation momentarily elevate the mood to something celebratory before the last line returns to a sense of quiet strength. Overall, it feels like a hymn distilled into six lines.
Symbols & metaphors
- The Sun / flaming wheels — The sun has long been a symbol of divine power and knowledge. The "flaming wheels" evoke the biblical chariot of God from Ezekiel 1, as well as the classical solar chariot, connecting Raphael to both traditions and highlighting him as a cosmic force, rather than just an earthly one.
- Darkness and the Night — Darkness, depicted as an opponent that God's word must conquer, represents ignorance, chaos, and the lack of the divine. By capitalizing both words, Longfellow treats them like proper names—almost as competing forces—heightening the significance of the Creation moment.
- Light — Light is the main symbol in the poem, serving two purposes: it represents the literal first act of Creation and acts as a metaphor for Faith. The connection between the two in the final line highlights the poem's essential message — to believe is to be illuminated.
- God's breath — Describing God's creative command as "breath" instead of a thunderclap makes the divine seem close and nurturing, reminiscent of the Genesis moment when God breathes life into Adam. It implies that Faith, much like breath, is a personal and direct gift.
Historical context
Longfellow included this poem in a sequence where each of the seven archangels speaks in turn, taken from his longer dramatic work *Christus: A Mystery* (1872) and related lyric collections. The archangel Raphael, known as a healer and guide in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit and in Jewish and Islamic tradition, has a name that translates to "God heals." By the 19th century, Raphael was also closely associated with the Italian Renaissance painter of the same name. Longfellow, who spent years in Europe and was significantly influenced by its art and religion, would have felt these connections strongly. The poem contributes to a larger Victorian discussion about the tension between scientific rationalism and religious faith — Longfellow's perspective here is to anchor faith in the universe's very first act.
FAQ
Raphael is one of the archangels mentioned in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic texts. His name translates to "God heals," and he is commonly linked to the sun, healing, and guiding travelers. In this poem, Longfellow portrays him as the bearer of the sun's light — symbolizing the gift of Faith — to the world.
It refers to two interconnected traditions. The first comes from the biblical vision in Ezekiel 1, depicting God's presence accompanied by a fiery chariot with wheels that spin. The second is the classical portrayal of the sun-god (either Apollo or Helios) steering a blazing chariot across the sky daily. Longfellow merges these images to present Raphael as a cosmic, timeless figure.
This typographical convention was common in 19th-century printing, where the long "s" and other letter forms could be styled differently. Longfellow's choice of words isn't significant here—the intended reading is "Let there **be** light," which directly quotes Genesis 1:3.
The final line — "I bring the gift of Faith" — follows right after the Genesis quotation about light, blending the two ideas into a single gift. Longfellow suggests that just as Raphael set the physical sun in motion at Creation, he also sparks the inner light of belief in people. Faith isn't something we reason our way into; it's a gift, like the sunrise.
Yes. It is part of a sequence where each of the seven archangels gives a brief speech, drawn from Longfellow's broader dramatic poem *Christus: A Mystery* (1872) and other related lyric works. Each angel represents a distinct divine gift — Raphael's gift is Faith.
The poem consists of one six-line stanza that follows an AABCCB rhyme scheme (run/sun, breath/light/light/Faith, featuring "light" twice and ending with "Faith"). The lines are brief and impactful, creating an effect more akin to a spoken declaration or creed than a reflective lyric.
Longfellow draws from the dramatic monologue tradition, allowing a non-human or historical figure to speak, while also tapping into the legacy of religious lyric poetry that ranges from Milton's *Paradise Lost* to the Psalms. Additionally, the poem reflects the Romantic interest in angels as bridges between humanity and the divine.
The poem suggests that Faith isn't something humans made up or decided on — it's a cosmic gift, as ancient as light, brought to us by a divine messenger who has been active since the very first moment of Creation. Longfellow is essentially saying that living in the light means already living in Faith.