Which writer coined the phrase “ships that pass in the night”?
Emily Dickinson
William Shakespeare
Edgar Allan Poe
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
This line originates from the poem “The Theologian’s Tale” in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Tales of a Wayside Inn. The poem reads: “Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing / Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness…” Here, the passing ships tell the readers about the people who see each other for the first time, and only for a short duration, before parting ways, disappearing into the vastness of the earth. Thus, the poet is telling readers that such people are like two ships, which passing by each other at night and come face to face for a transitory period.
Correct Answer: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow