“The Song of Hiawatha”
Ojibwa Indian Hiawatha is elevated to status as leader after successfully performing a number of heroic and mythic feats.
“Paul Revere’s Ride”
Exciting narrative account of Paul Revere’s ride through the countryside to warn colonists that the British were coming is heightened by metrical form that compels speed recitation.
Anti-slavery appeal made through imagery of Christmas bells ringing out peace on earth and goodwill to men on Christmas morning. Later set to music to become traditional Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”
“Evangeline”
Tragic narrator following Evangeline who was separated from her betrothed on their wedding day British expulsion of the Acadians from Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. Evangeline treks from Canada to Louisiana to Michigan to Philadelphia before reuniting with her dying love.
“The Village Blacksmith”
A Romantic portrait of simple American life in the middle of the 19th century seen through the eyes of the title characters.
A younger writer chastises an older psalmist for declaring that the soul is a myth and life has no meaning.
“The Courtship of Miles Standish”
Comic narrative about the courting of Priscilla Mullins by John Alden during the first harsh winter of the Plymouth colony gains impact from the fact that Longfellow’s poem features his own ancestors as main characters.
“Hymn to the Night”
In which the hymn winds up being to Night taking the personified figure of a goddess whose darkness brings a cloak of comfort rather than mystery and fear of the unknown.
“The Wreck of the Hesperus”
A storm threatening the title vessel calls into question the captain’s decision to his child out on the expedition when the weather winds up putting the child’s life in danger.
“The Arsenal at Springfield”
A meditation on the value using money to stockpile weapons is expressed through the imagery of the arsenal taking on the appearance of a grand church organ.
“The Jewish Cemetery at Newport”
The discovery by Longfellow of a Jewish cemetery in an unlikely spot in American sets the stage for a meditation upon contrasts in which the strange is found within the familiar. Filled with Biblical allusions, the poem expands upon its theme of contrasting cultures to suggest that an unseen is responsible for keeping the gravesite well-tended.
“The Building of the Ship”
The construction of the title is an allegory for the building of the United States and the expression of a hope that it can be kept together in the face of rising division.
“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”
The imagery of the tide coming and going in a never-ending cycle becomes a metaphor for the cycle of life of humans.
“Defence of Poetry”
Longfellow joins others in providing a defense for the purpose of poetry and outlines his views on what great poetry should seek to accomplish.
“The Fire of Drift-Wood: Devereux Farm, near Marblehead"
Friends gather around the fire in a Massachusetts farmhouse on a dark and stormy night to exchange stories about long gone friend from days of yore.
“The Golden Legend”
A drama in verse set during the Middle Ages.
“The Saga of King Olaf”
An epic retelling of how Christianity was introduced to Norway.
“Torquemada”
An almost Poe-like narrative realization of the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition.
“The Birds of Killingworth”
A tale of a town that places a bounty upon all its birds in a desperate effort to protect its crops.
