Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a linguist, traveler, and a romantic. While he very directly identified himself with the great traditions of European literature, he was a very commanding figure of, and is very deeply rooted in American culture and history. Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine on February 27th, 1807. In this seaport where he spent his childhood, he developed a strong love for the ocean that would influence his writing for the rest of his life. In fact, the sea inspired a whole collection of poems (to be published much later, of course), known as “The Seaside and the Fireside”, which portrayed not only his deep love for the sea by which he grew up, but another important underlying theme for his work: family. He would often slip pieces of Portland scenery into his later poems, such as “The Building of the Ship”, which draws on his familiarity with ship building in Maine. At only 13, Longfellow was an extremely skilled writer, and gained the attention of a local newspaper that published "The Battle of Lovell's Pond". This was a poem describing a battle that took place in 18th century Maine. This technique of incorporating American historical events into his poems would continue even until his last works, which became the patriotic classics we still read and quote today. Several great examples are “The Building of the Ship” (the poem does draw on Longfellow’s childhood enough for it to be mentioned above, however the symbolism is quite patriotic. The newly built ship is a symbol of the new nation, and a decade later, Abraham Lincoln himself would be deeply moved by this poem.), and one of his most famous works: “Paul Revere’s Ride”(1860). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, being the patriotic man he was, did very little to reject any ideas of the U.S. at that time. However, he did write two very inspiring and prominent works on slavery and war. In 1862, Longfellow traveled, again, to Europe for six months. This trip, like his many others, influenced his poetry greatly. Upon his return, he published his “Poems on Slavery”, in order to articulate his opposition to the dreadful act. He wasted no time at all in writing “The Belfrey of Bruges and Other Poems”. Inside of this work were: “The Arsenal at Springfield” and “The Occultation of Orion”. These two, very strong, anti-war poems were published only three years later in 1845.
Besides his poems of historical reference, he gained much of his influence from his many ventures to Europe. There, he received inspiration for many of his poems, such as "Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea" (1836), which is basically a collection of European travel sketches, “Voices of the Night”, and "Hyperion" (1839) a partly autobiographical novel which also drew on Longfellow’s experiences in Europe.
In 1847, Longfellow would publish one of his most successful and influential works. And accumulation of 8 poems called “Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie”. The story behind this particular book is as follows. On April 5th, 1840, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow invited a few of his friends over for a dinner at his rooms in Cambridge. One of these friends, Nathaniel Hawthorne (a writer and close companion to Longfellow), brought the Reverend Horace Conolly with him to this dinner. During the visit, Conolly related a tale that he had heard from a French-Canadian woman about an Acadian couple who separated on their wedding day by the British, who had been expelling the French-speaking residents of Nova Scotia. This bride-to-be wandered around for years, trying to find her lost fiancé. Conolly had originally hoped that Hawthorne would turn the folk tale into a novel, but Hawthorne was not interested. Longfellow, however, was. He reportedly called the story “the best illustration of faithfulness and the constancy of women that I have ever read.” He then asked for Hawthorne’s blessing to turn it into a poem. The poem went through six printings even in the first six months of publishing. Within ten years, it had been translated into a dozen languages. ‘Evangeline” has been made into two films since then, one made in 1922 and the second in 1929. Even now, generations of American children read, memorize, and recite the poem as part of their schooling, as they did in the 19th century when the poem first became popular, and schools, churches, inns, and many other social groups and businesses were named after the poem’s heroine. “Evangeline”, which took place in Acadia, created a very large tourist industry there. The culture there has been greatly impacted by the sudden change in popularity. The story of the French being forced from their homeland created a sort of cultural and political renaissance among the middle class in the second half of the 19th century. Even now, the site of Evangeline’s hometown of Grand Pre remains a pilgrimage site.
The second of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s greatest and most impactful works was “Paul Revere’s Ride”. This poem is still one of his most widely read and best know poems. Published on the eve of the American Civil War, the poem rescued a minor figure of the Revolutionary War from obscurity and turned him into a national hero. Although the basic premise of the poem is historically accurate, Paul Revere’s role is extremely exaggerated. Contrary to the poem, Revere was not the only rider that night, nor did he make it all the way to Concord. In fact, he was captured and then let go in Lexington, without his horse. However, during this time of national contention, the American people clung to Paul Revere as a symbol of the country’s noble past. Now, visitors can visit Revere’s house or, following Longfellow’s outline, walk in Revere’s footsteps as he travels the Freedom Trail.
Longfellow was such a prominent influence on the American people that he became a face for many products and advertising. Everyone read his poems and everyone knew who he was. His recognizable face was put on many products to make them seem more desirable. His poems were turned into board games and the characters into dolls. Geographic locations and buildings were named in his honor. Children were taught to recite his poems in schools, and in the 1870’s, his birthday was celebrated as a national holiday. Even as his appearance on everyday products dissipated, he is still a continuous presence in the American language. He is quoted by manufacturers, journalists in their articles, and preachers in their sermons. Even by ordinary men and women in their everyday lives. We still will sometimes hear “A boy’s wind is his will,” ‘Ships that pass in the night,” or “Footprints in the sands of time”. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow has rooted himself deeply into American history. His works will not be forgotten soon, if ever.