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In 1831 Henry married Mary Storer Potter, a former schoolmate. He settled down and started the New England Magazine. He and his wife traveled to Europe, where he studied Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and the Dutch language and literature. Mary died in Rotterdam, Germany, while they were traveling in 1835. The next year Henry began teaching in Harvard. He moved into a room of the famous Craigie House in Cambridge. He wrote the following poem about a clock that stood on the landing of the old house: "Somewhat back from the
village street In the Craigie House, which later came to be owned by a Nathan Appleton, Henry continued to write poems and books. Seven years later he married Nathan’s daughter, Frances. This home was filled with love and laughter of their five children. The poem, “The Children’s Hour” was written at this time. Sadly, Frances died in this house from burns when her gown caught on fire in 1861. In 1847 Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" was published. Many people say "Evangeline" was his best poem. In 1854 he resigned from Harvard to devote his time to his writing. “Song of Hiawatha”, written in 1855, was also very popular, as it was one of the first poems to reflect the Native American Indian culture. When "The Courtship of Miles Standish" came out in 1857 it sold 25,000 copies on the first day of publication. The next few years were filled with honors and rewards. Longfellow was given an honorary degree at Oxford and Cambridge. He was invited to the House of Windsor by Queen Victoria by request of the Prince of Wales and was a chosen member of the Russian Academy and Spanish Academy. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - professor, librarian, , linguist abolitionist and poet - died on March 24, 1882. But the sensation of his poetry is still with us.
Here are some other poems written by Longfellow:
Researched and written by JasonImage source: Culver Pictures in New York City |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is one of the most famous American poets.
People love his poems because they rhyme and sound like songs. Henry was
born on February 27, 1807 in Portland, Maine. He was the son of Stephen
and Zilpah Longfellow, who was a descendant of John Alden of the
Mayflower. Henry's father, Stephen, was a lawyer so Henry was born to a
rich family. Henry was very bright and he began school at age three. By
the time he was six he was the smartest boy in the school. He was very
good at spelling and arithmetic. But Henry loved to write and eventually
became very good at it. His Mother enjoyed reading to her young son;
Don Quixote was one of Henry’s favorite books, along with
Washington Irving's Sketch Book. Henry's father wanted him to
become a lawyer but after Henry graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine at
the age of 19 he wanted to become a professor. But Henry wanted to travel
to Europe to study. He followed that dream, but later returned to Bowdoin
to become a professor and librarian at age 22. Because of the influence of
his travels, he inspired his students to appreciate the literature of
Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Nordic, and Icelandic cultures.
Longfellow
used similes when he compared what he gained and what he lost. Longfellow
used rhyme in all his poems. In this poem he used the words: wise and
disguise, spent and intent and gained and attained. Longfellow wrote in
both first person and third person. All of his poems have at least two
stanzas.