How should we treat the past and the future according to the speaker in ‘A Psalm of Life’ by Longfellow?
As the speaker (the young man) in Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem ‘A Psalm of Life’ says it, we should not trust our future however pleasant it may look at present. Even if it looks very bright now, situations may change later. In short, we can never be certain of our future and so we should not trust it. Rather we have to work in the present to make our life a success.
Again, past is past. We should not be worried or even happy thinking of our past failures or successes. Past should be forgotten and utmost concentration should be given on our present situation and the works we have in hand. This is how the poet expresses it —
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, — act in the living Present!
She said that we should not trust in the future time however pleasant it may be and never lament or regret about the past as past time is over. And she advises us to only think about present time.