Haunted Houses

Quick Study Notes

Stanza 1
• Every home where people have lived and passed away carries their lingering presence.
• These spirits are harmless, quietly moving through open doors, leaving no sound behind.
• The poet suggests that haunting is not always terrifying—it’s a gentle continuation of
memory.

Stanza 2
• We sense these spirits in everyday places—doorways, staircases, hallways.
• Though invisible, they leave subtle impressions, like a breeze or a shift in the air.
• It’s a poetic way of saying that memories live among us, even if we can’t see them.
• They make their presence felt through to and fro motions.

Stanza 3
• At gatherings, there are more presences than people—ghosts quietly join in.
• They’re as silent and unobtrusive as paintings on the wall.
• The stanza evokes a sense of peaceful coexistence between the living and the departed.
• The pictures on the wall can be considered as the past occupants of the house and the
word ‘silence’ talks of harmony.

Stanza 4
• The speaker sees and hears things others cannot—ghosts or memories.
• While others perceive only the present, the speaker is capable to the past’s echoes.
• This highlights how personal memory can shape one’s experience of a place.
• The sees his past and future clearly which has been emphasized by the idea
“Visible and clear”

Stanza 5
• The speaker (possibly a ghost) says they no longer own property.
• Forgotten ancestors still cling to their old homes, reaching out from the grave.
• It’s a metaphor for how the past refuses to be erased.
• This stanza talks of futility of material possession.
• Mortmain tells us about a spiritual connection rather than material possession.
Stanza 6
• The spiritual realm surrounds our physical world like air or mist.
• It’s always present, even if we don’t notice it.
• The poet paints a picture of two worlds coexisting, one visible whereas the other one is only
felt.

Stanza 7
• Human life is a balance between base instincts and noble aspirations.
• This inner struggle is part of what makes us human.
• The stanza slowly shifts from ghosts to philosophy, reflecting on our nature and struggle.
• Though both kinds of desires live within us, the one that dominates defines our fate and our
nature
Stanza 8
• Our constant desires and ambitions are influenced by unseen forces.
• The poet compares them to undiscovered stars or planets, mysterious yet powerful.
• It’s a poetic way of saying that we’re shaped by things beyond our understanding.
• The poet drops a hint towards how we are controlled by external forces.

Stanza 9
• Moonlight creates a bridge between worlds—the living and the spiritual.
• Our thoughts and dreams cross this bridge into the realm of mystery.
• It’s a beautiful metaphor for how memory and imagination connect us to the past.
• The bridge of moonlight establishes a connection between the two realms.

Stanza 10
• The spirit world sends down a shimmering bridge to our world.
• Our thoughts wander across it, seeking meaning beyond the material.
• The Poet ends with a sense of wonder and connection, not fear.
• The poet subtly tells us about how the memories of our ancestors often come to the
surface

Symbols
[Link] House
- Primary Symbol: Represents the human psyche or mind—containing rooms (aspects of
consciousness) filled with memories and emotions
- Metaphor for the Soul: Just as a house has foundations, walls, and structure, the soul has depth
and complexity
- *Refuge and Prison*: The house is simultaneously a place of shelter and a place of confinement
where one is trapped with past experiences

[Link] and Doors

- Individual rooms symbolize different memories, experiences, or emotional chambers of the mind
- Doors represent boundaries between the conscious and unconscious, the past and present
- Closed or locked doors suggest suppressed emotions or inaccessible memories
[Link] and Light
- Darkness represents the unknown, hidden truths, and the obscured nature of the supernatural
- Light represents consciousness, awareness, and the attempt to illuminate truth
- The interplay between darkness and light creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and mystery

[Link]
- Represent unfinished business, unresolved emotions, and the inability to move forward
- Embody the power of memory to resurrect the past vividly
- Symbolize how those we have loved remain present in our consciousness even after physical
death

[Link] Night
- Symbolizes the time when barriers between the material and immaterial worlds grow thin
- Represents the unconscious mind and the realm of dreams and emotions
- Suggests vulnerability and a loosening of rational control
[Link] Bridge of Light
- Connection between the material world and World of spirits
- Shows emotional turmoil and wandering thoughts
- A delicate bond between us and our departed beloved through memories and fancy

[Link] Abyss
- The unknown or the mystery
- Depth of human thoughts
- Trivia and Fancy

Literary Devices / Figures of Speeches

1. Metaphor
• "Impalpable impressions on the air" (Stanza 2):
• "The world of sense" (Stanza 6):
• "Earthly mists and vapours dense" (Stanza 6):

2. Simile
• "As silent as the pictures on the wall" (Stanza 3):
• "Floats like an atmosphere..." (Stanza 6):
• "And as the moon... So, from the world of spirits..." (Stanzas 9 & 10)

3. Personification
• "The harmless phantoms on their errands glide" (Stanza 1):
• "Owners and occupants of earlier dates / From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands"
(Stanza 5):
• "The instinct that enjoys, / And the more noble instinct that aspires" (Stanza 7)

4. Imagery
• Visual & Auditory Imagery (Stanza 4): "The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear..."
• Tactile Imagery (Stanza 10): "O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends..."

5. Antithesis
• "All houses wherein men have lived and died" (Stanza 1):
• "He but perceives what is; while unto me / All that has been is visible and clear" (Stanza 4)
• "This perpetual jar / Of earthly wants and aspirations high" (Stanza 8)

6. Imagery of Symbolism (The Dark Abyss)

• "Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss" (Stanza 10)

7. Oxymoron:
• Perpetual Jar:
 Important phrases

1. "Stranger at my fireside"

• Literal Meaning: A guest or visitor sitting by the speaker’s hearth or fireplace.

• Context in Poem: The speaker notes that this stranger cannot see the ghostly forms or hear
the sounds that the speaker does. The stranger only perceives the physical reality of the present
moment ("what is").

• Thematic Significance: This phrase highlights the contrast between ordinary perception and
spiritual insight. The fireside is traditionally a symbol of comfort and domestic life, but here it
becomes a site of division. The "stranger" represents the average human experience—rooted
strictly in the material world—oblivious to the rich, unseen history and spiritual atmosphere
enveloping them.

2. "Title-deeds"

• Literal Meaning: Legal documents constituting evidence of a person's legal ownership of a

piece of property or land.

• Context in Poem: The speaker asserts, "We have no title-deeds to house or lands".

• Thematic Significance: Longfellow uses this legal terminology to humble the living. It serves
as a reminder of the transience of human life. While we may buy, sell, and claim ownership of
property during our lifetimes, our " ownership" is a temporary illusion. Earthly laws cannot truly
sever the bond between a place and the generations of people who lived and died there before us.

3. "Mortmain"

• Literal Meaning: A legal term (derived from Old French/Law French meaning "dead hand").
Historically, it referred to the permanent, inalienable ownership of land by ecclesiastical bodies or
corporations, meaning the land was held in a "dead hand" that never let it go.

• Context in Poem: Longfellow writes that forgotten past occupants "hold in mortmain still
their old estates".

• Thematic Significance: This is a brilliant pun and metaphor. Literally, the hands of the dead
are "dusty" and dead, but legally and spiritually, their influence acts as a mortmain. They exert a
permanent, unbreakable grip on the present. The past cannot be evicted; the dead still claim
residency and spiritual ownership over the places they once loved.

4. "Ethereal Air"

• Literal Meaning: Air that is extremely delicate, light, heavenly, or celestial, rather than
earthly and dense.

• Context in Poem: The spirit world floats around us like an atmosphere, wafting a "vital
breath of more ethereal air" through our heavy, earthly mists.

• Thematic Significance: This represents spiritual nourishment and divine inspiration.

Longfellow suggests that humanity would suffocate or become entirely corrupted by the "dense
vapours" of material life (greed, chores, physical survival) if it weren't for the constant, refreshing
influx of higher, pure, spiritual energy that keeps our souls alive.
5. "Equipoise"

• Literal Meaning: A state of perfect balance or equilibrium.

• Context in Poem: The speaker explains that "Our little lives are kept in equipoise / By
opposite attractions and desires".

• Thematic Significance: Human existence is depicted as a delicate tightrope walk. We are

constantly suspended between two opposing gravity wells: the lower instinct to indulge in physical,
earthly pleasures and the higher, noble instinct to aspire toward spiritual greatness. "Equipoise"
emphasizes that being human means permanently living within this tension; we are neither fully
beasts nor fully angels.

6. "Perpetual Jar"

• Literal Meaning: A continuous, never-ending clash, vibration, or discord. (To "jar" means to
strike discordantly or clash unpleasantly).

• Context in Poem: The poet refers to "These perturbations, this perpetual jar / Of earthly
wants and aspirations high..."

• Thematic Significance: While "equipoise" implies a static balance, "perpetual jar" reveals
the internal friction that comes with it. It describes the restless emotional and psychological
turbulence humans feel. We are constantly "jarred" or shaken because our daily material
necessities and physical cravings are at constant war with our highest moral and spiritual ideals.

7. "Bridge of light"

• Literal Meaning: A glowing pathway created by illumination.

• Context in Poem: Longfellow uses the physical imagery of the moon casting a shimmering,
floating reflection across the sea to describe how a spiritual "bridge of light" descends from the
world of spirits to connect with our world.

• Thematic Significance: The bridge represents intuition, imagination, and faith. It is the
connective tissue between human consciousness and the divine realm. Because it is made of
"light" and has an "unsteady floor" that "sways and bends," it cannot be walked upon physically.
Instead, it is a fragile, beautiful pathway across which our thoughts and fantasies travel to catch
glimpses of eternity.

8. "Abyss"

• Literal Meaning: A deep, dark, immeasurable space or bottomless chasm.

• Context in Poem: The final line notes that our thoughts wander on the bridge "above the
dark abyss".

• Thematic Significance: The abyss symbolizes the terrifying unknown, death, and the void of
eternity. It represents everything that lies beyond human comprehension. Walking the spiritual
"bridge of light" is an act of profound vulnerability; beneath our fragile thoughts lies a vast, dark
mystery. However, the poem ends with our thoughts safely navigating above it, suggesting that
spiritual awareness and imagination give us the grace to transcend our fear of death and the
unknown.