THE SEA OF GALILEE
NATHANIEL, in the ship.
All is now ended.
The Annotated Edition
THE SEA OF GALILEE by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →
This is a brief dramatic piece — only two lines — featuring the disciple Nathaniel (Bartholomew) sitting in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee as he utters the words "All is now ended." It conveys the deep, stunned grief of the disciples right after the Crucifixion, when the hope of resurrection hasn't yet emerged.
- Themes
- despair, faith, identity
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
This is a brief dramatic piece — only two lines — featuring the disciple Nathaniel (Bartholomew) sitting in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee as he utters the words "All is now ended." It conveys the deep, stunned grief of the disciples right after the Crucifixion, when the hope of resurrection hasn't yet emerged. In just a few words, Longfellow captures a moment where a single person is at the lowest point of his faith.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Line by line
Stanza by stanza, with notes
NATHANIEL, in the ship. / All is now ended.
Editor's note
The stage direction — *NATHANIEL, in the ship* — immediately sets us on the Sea of Galilee, the same water where Jesus initially called his fishermen-disciples. Nathaniel, who John's Gospel identifies as Bartholomew, has gone back to the only life he knew: fishing. His lone line, *All is now ended*, carries the entire emotional weight of the poem. It’s not an outburst of anger or a plea — it’s a flat, weary resignation. The man who once left his nets to follow a teacher he believed was the Messiah now finds himself back in that same boat, convinced that the story has concluded. The poem's brevity reflects the emptiness of that moment: there’s nothing more to express.
§04Tone & mood
How this poem feels
The tone feels stark and desolate. There's no decoration, no comfort, and no rhetorical flair—just a man in a boat uttering the worst thing he can think of. The dramatic-fragment style keeps the reader at arm's length, like observing a scene through a window, which makes the grief feel even more raw and vulnerable.
§05Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- The ship
- The fishing boat represents the life Nathaniel had before Jesus — an ordinary, familiar, and safe existence. Going back to it suggests he thinks the remarkable part of his life has come to an end for good.
- The Sea of Galilee
- This body of water is where the disciples were first called and where Jesus walked on water. Its presence in the title carries the weight of everything Nathaniel now feels he has lost.
- "All is now ended"
- The line represents a complete spiritual breakdown—the moment when faith hasn't been restored and despair clouds everything. It captures the darkest moment of the Easter story in just four words.
§06Historical context
Historical context
Longfellow published this piece in his ambitious dramatic poem *Christus: A Mystery* (1872), a trilogy he spent nearly thirty years crafting. The work traces the journey of Christian history, starting with the Nativity and continuing through the early Church and into the medieval era. "The Sea of Galilee" is part of *The Divine Tragedy*, the trilogy's first section, which presents scenes from the Gospels in a minimalist, almost theatrical manner. Longfellow was particularly interested in how everyday people experience significant spiritual crises, often giving voice to minor or peripheral characters — like Nathaniel — instead of focusing solely on the central figures. By 1872, Longfellow had endured profound personal loss, including the tragic death of his second wife in a fire in 1861. His religious poetry reflects the depth of someone who has truly felt despair.
§07FAQ
Questions readers ask
Nathaniel is introduced in the Gospel of John as one of the first disciples called by Jesus. In the other three Gospels, he is commonly identified as Bartholomew. Jesus notably remarks about him, *'Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.'* He worked as a fisherman in Cana, Galilee.
Longfellow wrote *Christus: A Mystery* as a dramatic poem, which can be seen as a verse play. Many of its sections consist of short dramatic fragments or monologues. This brevity is a conscious artistic decision; the blank spaces on the page reflect the emptiness Nathaniel experiences. There’s nothing left to express.
Nathaniel speaks during the time between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection — he thinks Jesus is dead and the movement is over. This line conveys profound despair: it’s not just sorrow for a person, but the crumbling of everything he had faith in and dedicated his life to.
The Sea of Galilee is where Jesus first called his disciples, performed miracles like walking on water, and calmed a storm. For Nathaniel to find himself back on that same water, fishing again, paints a striking picture of a man who believes his story has ended and is now returning to square one.
*Christus: A Mystery* is a three-part dramatic poem that Longfellow published in 1872. The first part, *The Divine Tragedy*, brings to life scenes from the Gospels. This fragment is found in that section, expressing a disciple's sorrow following the Crucifixion.
At its core, the poem explores the collapse of faith into despair — that moment when belief fades away, leaving only loss behind. It also delves into identity (who is Nathaniel without his teacher?) and examines the connection between memory and grief.
Not entirely. Longfellow is best known for his long narrative poems that feature strong rhythms and rhyme schemes — like *The Song of Hiawatha* and *Paul Revere's Ride*. This fragment stands out as unusually spare and quiet, revealing a different aspect of his range: the plain-spoken, dramatically restrained voice he employed throughout *Christus*.
Read next