I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

“[P]eace on earth, good-will to men” (Lines 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35) is a phrase used as a refrain at the end of every stanza. It is taken from the Bible, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). This section of the book of Luke relays the journey of the pregnant Mary and Joseph as they enter Bethlehem, the birth of Christ in the manger, and the visit from the angel to the shepherds, announcing the arrival of the savior of man. Longfellow knows that his readers will know this reference and is evoking it as the correct of Christianity, reminding them of what the angel said. The phrase also helps to justify the “Right prevail[ing]” (Line 34), enhancing the idea that, in the Civil War, the Union is on the correct side of “good-will” by seeking an end to slavery and the “hate” (Line 28) that “mocks the song” (Line 29) of Christianity.

The speaker worries that the Civil War is equal to an “earthquake rent[ing] / the hearth-stones of a continent” (Lines 21-22). The hearth is the floor of a fireplace, and in literature, is often symbolic of the heart of the home and/or the family unit.