Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

**Henry Wadsworth Longfellow** (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American teacher and poet. Some of his poems are "Paul Revere's Ride", _The Song of Hiawatha_, and _Evangeline_. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's _The Divine Comedy_. He was one of the five Fireside Poets. He was one of the most influential persons in the culture of the 1800s in the USA.

Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine and studied at Bowdoin College. He then spent time in Europe. He returned and became a professor at Bowdoin and, later, at Harvard College. His first major books of poetry were _Voices of the Night_ (1839) and _Ballads and Other Poems_ (1841). Longfellow retired from teaching in 1854 to spend more time writing. He lived the rest of his life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living in George Washington's old headquarters building. His first wife, Mary Potter, died in 1835 after a miscarriage. His second wife, Frances Appleton, died in 1861 after her dress caught fire. Longfellow had difficulty writing poetry for a time after she died. He mostly worked on his translation. He died in 1882.

Longfellow mainly wrote lyric poems which are known for their musicality. His poems often told stories of mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet while he was alive. He was also successful in other countries. Some criticized him for imitating European styles and for writing poems for everyday people. In 1884, Longfellow became the first non-British writer for whom a commemorative bust was placed in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey in London. He is the only American poet represented with a bust.

## Early life

Longfellow was born in Maine. One of his grandfathers was a state Senator and the other grandfather had been a Revolutionary War general and a Congressman. Then following his graduation in 1826 from Bowdoin College, where he was a classmate of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Longfellow went to Europe to study.

When he returned to the United States three years later, he taught European languages, first at Bowdoin and then at Harvard.

After 18 years of teaching at Harvard, he resigned his position because he felt it interfered with his writing.

## Influences on society and culture

He was a commanding person in the culture life of 19-century America, a romantic who identified with the great traditions of European literature and thought. Also at the same time, he was rooted in American life and history that charged his imagination with amazing themes and made him ambitious for success.

## End of life

During the last years of his life, Longfellow received many honors, including honorary degrees from Cambridge and Oxford Universities in England. After his death, a bust of Longfellow was placed in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey—the first American to be so honored. In the late 19th century, Longfellow was without a doubt the most popular American poet.

## List of works

- _Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea_ (Travelogue) (1835)
- _Hyperion, a Romance_ (1839)
- _The Spanish Student. A Play in Three Acts_ (1843)
- _Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie_ (epic poem) (1847)
- "Kavanagh: A Tale"  (1849)
- "The Golden Legend" (poem) (1851)
- _The Song of Hiawatha_ (epic poem) (1855)
- _The Children's Hour_ (1860)
- _Household Poems_ (1865)
- _The New England Tragedies_ (1868)
- _The Divine Tragedy_ (1871)
- _Christus: A Mystery_ (1872)
- "Aftermath" (poem) (1873)
- _The Reaper and the Flowers_ (1839)
- _The Bell of Atri_ (from _The Sicilian's Tale_) (1863–72)
- Poetry collections
- _A Psalm of Life_ (1838)
- _Voices of the Night_ (1839)
- _Ballads and Other Poems_ (1841)
- _Poems on Slavery_ (1842)
- _The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems_ (1845)
- _Birds of Passage_ (1845)
- _The Seaside and the Fireside_ (1850)
- _The Courtship of Miles Standish and Other Poems_ (1858)
- _Tales of a Wayside Inn_ (1863)
- _Flower-de-Luce_ (1867)
- _Three Books of Song_ (1872)
- _The Masque of Pandora and Other Poems_ (1875)
- _Kéramos and Other Poems_ (1878)
- _Ultima Thule_ (1880)
- _In the Harbor_ (1882)
- _Michel Angelo: A Fragment_ (incomplete; published posthumously)
- Translations
- _Coplas de Don Jorge Manrique_  (Translation from Spanish) (1833)
- _Dante's Divine Comedy_ (Translation) (1867)
- Anthologies
- _Poets and Poetry of Europe_ (Translations) (1844)
- _The Waif_ (1845)
- _Poems of Places_ (1874)

## References

- Calhoun, Charles C. _Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life_. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004. .
- Williams, Cecil B. _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1964.

## Other websites

**Sources**
- Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and biography at PoetryFoundation.org
- - Plain text and HTML
- Works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at Internet Archive - Scanned books, many illustrated and original editions.
- Audio - Hear the Village Blacksmith
- Maine Historical Society Searchable poem text database, biographical data, lesson plans.
**Other**
- Longfellow National Historic Site in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, Maine
- Longfellow's Translation of Dante rendered side by side with that of Cary and Norton
- Famous Quotations by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Audiobooks--Layne Longfellow Reads H.W. Longfellow

## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- **image**: HenryWLongFellow1868.jpg
- **caption**: Longfellow in 1868 by Julia Margaret Cameron
- **birth place**: Portland, Maine, United States
- **death place**: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- **occupation**: Poet
Professor
- **movement**: Romanticism
- **signature**: HWLongfellow autograph1.png