In "The Slave's Dream" by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, the
trees and animals both encourage the slave and cheer for his
victory.
The poem describes an African-American slave who
has fallen asleep "beside the ungathered rice." In his sleep, the slave dreams of "his
Native Land" of Africa.
Many different aspects of the
African geography and wildlife remind the slave that he had once been a free man. These
aspects include: "the palm-trees on the plain"; "the mountain-road"; the bank of the
Niger River; the "bright flamingoes"; the "plains where the tamarind grew"; the view of
the ocean; the lion's roar; and the "scream" of the hyena. All of these memories
encourage the slave.
Near the end of the poem, Longfellow
writes:
The
forests, with their myriad tongues,
Shouted of liberty;
And the
Blast of the Desert cried aloud,
With a voice so wild and
free...
This can be thought
of as a cheer for the slave's victory.
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