The Guest by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It retells Luke 7:36–50, where a woman known as a sinner comes into the house of Simon the Pharisee. She weeps at Jesus's feet, dries them with her hair, and pours expensive ointment on them. In response, Jesus forgives her sins and highlights the difference between her passionate love and Simon's indifferent hospitality.

Simon is the Pharisee — a respected religious leader — who invites Jesus to dinner. In both the Bible story and this poem, he symbolizes institutional religion that prioritizes rules and categories (sinner vs. righteous) over the genuine human experience happening right in front of him.

The poem is an excerpt from Christus: A Mystery, a verse drama. This theatrical format allows Longfellow to reveal Simon's inner thoughts — the ones he would keep to himself — making his hypocrisy evident to the reader while he remains politely silent in the room.

Alabaster is a soft, light-colored stone often shaped into vessels for precious oils and perfumes. In the ancient world, it was considered a luxury. The woman breaks open something valuable and pours it out entirely — a gesture that boldly conveys she is holding nothing back.

Longfellow doesn’t express his opinion outright, but the poem's structure speaks volumes. The woman’s stanza is filled with sensory warmth, while Simon’s feels short and self-satisfied. Readers are meant to sense the woman’s love and see Simon’s judgment as empty—mirroring the reversal Jesus makes in the original Bible passage.

Yes. It's a brief excerpt from Christus: A Mystery (1872), a three-part dramatic poem that explores the early Christian era, the medieval period, and the Puritan settlement in New England. Longfellow regarded it as his masterpiece, although nowadays it's not as widely read as his shorter poems like 'Paul Revere's Ride.'

It’s the one detail in the scene that stands out and can't be overlooked. You might brush off a woman's tears, but you can't ignore a scent that permeates every corner of the room. Longfellow uses this to illustrate that true love is undeniable, regardless of whether the Simons of the world approve.

The title refers to Jesus as the guest in Simon's house. Ironically, Simon, the host, neglects to provide the basic courtesies of welcome — there's no water for Jesus' feet, no kiss of greeting, and no oil for his head — while the uninvited woman, labeled a sinner, offers everything she has. In this scene, the guest receives honor not from the host but from the outcast.