THE COASTS OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI
CHRISTUS, going up the mountain.
Who do the people say I am?
The Annotated Edition
THE COASTS OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →
This brief dramatic piece from Longfellow's larger work *Christus: A Mystery* highlights the moment when Jesus asks his disciples whom the people think he is — a question central to Christian faith.
- Themes
- doubt, faith, identity
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
This brief dramatic piece from Longfellow's larger work *Christus: A Mystery* highlights the moment when Jesus asks his disciples whom the people think he is — a question central to Christian faith. It’s straightforward and to the point, removing any narrative embellishments to concentrate solely on that powerful question. The title locates the scene in Caesarea Philippi, where Peter famously confesses his faith in Christ according to the Gospels.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Line by line
Stanza by stanza, with notes
CHRISTUS, going up the mountain. / Who do the people say I am?
Editor's note
The stage direction indicates that Christ is literally ascending—moving upward, away from the crowd, and toward something greater. The question he poses is one of the most well-known in the New Testament (Matthew 16:13), and Longfellow quotes it nearly word for word. By presenting only the question, he compels the reader to ponder its significance: identity, belief, and the distance between public perception and deeper truth are all encapsulated in these seven words.
§04Tone & mood
How this poem feels
Solemn and spare. There’s no ornamentation here — the tone feels almost liturgical, reminiscent of how a line read in a church service can feel both personal and grand. The brevity builds a sense of reverent suspense, as if the poem is holding its breath, waiting for a response.
§05Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- The mountain
- Ascending a mountain in biblical tradition signifies a journey toward the divine—consider Moses on Sinai or the Sermon on the Mount. In this context, it positions Christ between the human world below and the transcendent realm above, physically embodying the question of his nature.
- The question itself
- "Who do the people say I am?" isn’t just a question of ignorance — it’s a call to reflect. It highlights the difference between what people say and what one truly believes, and it raises the challenge each reader must confront in determining their own beliefs.
- Caesarea Philippi
- This city was pagan, featuring a shrine dedicated to the god Pan and serving as a hub for Roman imperial worship. Placing the question of Christ's identity in this context, surrounded by rival gods and authorities, raises the stakes significantly.
§06Historical context
Historical context
Longfellow published *Christus: A Mystery* in 1872, wrapping up decades of work—he had been drafting sections of it since the 1840s. The complete work is a dramatic trilogy that explores the life of Christ, the early church, and the medieval era. "The Coasts of Caesarea Philippi" appears in the first part, *The Divine Tragedy*, which retells the Gospel story in a dramatic verse format. Longfellow had a lifelong fascination with religious questions, even if he didn't adhere to orthodox beliefs. This scene takes inspiration from Matthew 16:13–20, where Jesus asks his disciples who he is, and Peter responds with "Thou art the Christ." By the 1870s, Longfellow had become one of the most popular poets in the English-speaking world, and *Christus* was his ambitious effort to create a Christian epic reminiscent of Dante and Milton.
§07FAQ
Questions readers ask
It’s a scene from *Christus: A Mystery* (1872), a lengthy dramatic trilogy by Longfellow. While the entire work isn’t often read these days, excerpts of individual scenes, like this one, occasionally surface. Consider it less as a lyric poem and more as a page from a verse play.
As an excerpt, yes — this is the opening moment of the scene, essentially a stage direction followed by a single line of dialogue. Longfellow wrote *Christus* as a drama, so scenes start and end like acts in a play. The brevity is intentional: the question is left open for the disciples (and the reader) to ponder.
Matthew 16:13: "When Jesus arrived in the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am?'" Longfellow borrows the geography and the question nearly verbatim from the King James Bible.
He is sticking closely to the Gospel account, but the location is significant. Caesarea Philippi was known for its pagan worship — it housed a famous shrine to Pan and was named after the Roman emperor. Asking "who am I?" in a city filled with other gods and rulers gives the question a sharper edge.
At its core, this is about **identity** — who Christ is and how faith influences our understanding of that. It also explores **faith** itself and **doubt**, since the question suggests that people may have varied answers. The mountain setting ties it to **nature** as a place for spiritual connection.
Longfellow was brought up Unitarian and embraced a more spiritual perspective rather than a strictly orthodox one. *Christus* approaches the Gospel story with respect, yet it reflects the sensibilities of a poet and dramatist. He isn’t crafting a creed; he’s creating a scene, allowing the question to linger without imposing an answer on the reader.
*Christus* was Longfellow's most ambitious project, the one he dedicated the most time to and felt most passionately about. It stands alongside *Evangeline* and *The Song of Hiawatha* as an effort to create large-scale narrative and dramatic verse during a period when American poetry was still discovering its epic voice.
Longfellow consistently employs the Latin form in *Christus: A Mystery* — it serves as both the title of the work and the name of a character in the drama. This use of Latin lends the text a timeless and somewhat formal tone, setting it apart from casual conversation and indicating that this is a significant literary and theological effort.
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