Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882

Issues and themes

As a boy, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow knew he wanted to become a poet.  The beautiful scenery of the coastal city left an impact on young Longfellow.  He was the second of eight children in his family, and, second only to his happiness at home was the nature of Portland that surrounded him.  As Edward Hirsh described in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The nearby woods and the northward sweep of primeval forest beyond them; the color and bustle of the harbor; above all, the restless Atlantic with its changing moods--these were to haunt Longfellow's imagination throughout his life and to give much of his poetry its
dominant imagery" (6).  Portland, Maine, inspired Longfellow's desire to see more of the world through its metropolitan life yet, at the same time, the waterfront served as the quiet escape for meditation (Williams 28).  Living in Portland, he witnessed many memorable historical events such as in 1813 the seafight between the British and the Americans.  In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette visited Portalnd.  As Cecil B. Williams stated, "it is easy to believe that "much of his (Longfellow's) facility for verse rhythms came to him through his responsive listening to the lapping of the waves and to the sighing of the wind in lofty pines
nearby" (29).  Edward Hirsh agreed as he wrote: "The sea is Longfellow's deepest and most inclusive symbol. . . it is therestless mystery of existence. . ." (26).  Longfellow loved Portland and absorbed all that he could; he took nothing for granted and, from the images he gathered and lessons he learned, he published beautiful  poems enabling the rest of the world to share
in these indescribable visions. 

Qualifications

After he graduated from college, Longfellow's yearning to be a poet had intensified into a "burning ambition" (Williams 129).  Along with his dedicated desire to be a poet, he possessed many other great qualifications.  As a boy, he was always conscientious,
industrious, persevering, and prompt, and every task he engaged in received his full and best effort.  At the same time he loved to play as all little boys do.  As he grew and began to write more poetry, "he was equipped to become a first-rate poet" (Williams 129).  Longfellow was very careful, skillful, and sensitive in his use of language.  The language that he chose was"simple and economical, natural in movement, emotionally exact in its use of words and phrases, and restrained in statement" (Hirsh 31).  He is noted for the way in which his language takes on its own life, charged with meaning from the ever-occurring situations of life.  According to Williams, Longfellow, unlike other poets, did not depend on connotations or overtones from within the poem to create these lively verses; rather, he created illusions of events and experiences of life to which practically everyone can relate.  He goes on to address that a significant supply of knowledge about Longfellow and his life are essential to fully understand the meaning of his works.  His "genuine poetic imagination" had been steadfastly building in credibility from all his life experiences (129).  Longfellow possessed an outstanding ear for rhyme and meter and his knowledge of different "prosodic forms" allowed him to be 'choosey' when creating his poems (Williams 129).  His  technical endowment was considered much better than average.  "If his worst fault is that he made poetry seem so easy to write that anyone could do it, his greatest virtue is that he made poetry seem worth reading and worth writing" (Parker 628). 

Before Tragedy

Longfellow went to college at Bowdoin and became a professor of modern languages.  He spent many years in Europe mastering many different languages.  When he returned, he quickly accepted a position to teach at Harvard.  The position required more studying so he returned to Europe again.  He enjoyed traveling and his trip in 1835 led him
to meet his future second wife, Fanny Appleton, the Boston heiress.  They received the Craigie House in Cambridge as a wedding gift from her father.  Longfellow had everything he could have wanted; his "life was idyllic" (Parker 629). Longfellow
and Fanny had five children: Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Annie Allegra.  He was very tender, devotional, and loving toward his children and "The Children's Hour" is one of the poems Longfellow wrote depicting himself as their father, a poet.  All his friendships were lifelong.  During his middle years, Longfellow was "less successfully challenged; and just materially, thanks to his literary rewards and his wife's fortune, his life was as easy and as free from pinch as that of any American writerhas ever been" (Arvin 133). 

After Tragedy

On July 9, 1861, while Longfellow was resting in his study, something happened just seconds away in the room next door that would affect his life forever.  His beloved wife was sealing up their daughter's hair when either a drop of hot wax or a spark sprang into her lap and set her summer dress aflame.  Longfellow was awoken as Fanny ran to him and he frantically attempted to smother the flames.  Fanny was severely burned and passed away that night.  Longfellow also was badly burned yet not to the extreme that his wife was.  He was unable to shave his face anymore as a result of the scars left by the burning flames; this is where the well-pictured "bearded Longfellow" (white Longfellow) was created (Hirsh 12).  For months, Longfellow lived his life in constant grief.  Newton Arvin in his Longfellow. . .His Life and Work stated: "His mind wandered, and he feared that he would go mad."  Longfellow was deeply depressed and never spoke freely of his loss to anyone.  He does, however, refer to it directly in only one of his poems, "The Cross of Snow" (Hirsh 12-13).  Edward Hirsh wrote that
Longfellow forced himself to "resume writing as an escape from his grief" (13).  It was during this time that he accomplished some of his most successful works.  Yet the transformation from happy spirited and peaceful  poems to dark, mysterious, and
gloomy work can be easily recognized.  "The Rainy Day" is one of his best-known poems written after Fanny's death.  In the poem, Longfellow compares his life to that of a rainy day being "cold, and dark, and dreary" (Williams 133).   After many sad
poems, Longfellow took his last journey to Europe from 1868-1869.  This trip was "almost royal progress, with honorary degrees conferred by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. . . cheers of the undergraduates. . . reception by Queen Victoria. . . . Victor Hugo saluted Longfellow as a man who brought honor to America. . . he was clearly the uncrowned poet laureate " (Hirsh 14). 

Bibliography

Arvin, Newton.  Longfellow:  His Life and Work.  Boston:  Little, Brown and Company, 1962.  PS 2281. A6. 

Hirsh, Edward.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Minneapolis:  Jones Press, Inc., 1964.  PS 2281. H55. 

Parker, Hershel.  The Norton Anthology of American Literature, American Literature 1820-1865.  New York:  W.W.Norton & Company, 1995. 

Scudder, Horace E.  Longfellow's Complete Poems.  New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1922.  PS 2250. F22.

Wagenknecht, Edward.  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:  His Poetry and Prose.  New York:  The Ungar Publishing Company, 1986.  PS 2288. W27 1986. 

Williams, Cecil B.  Longfellow.  Boston:  Twayne Publishers, 1964.  PS 2281. W47. 

Life

Identity

Homes

Chronology