Paul Revere's Ride
What details does Longfellow include to explain the time and place in which the events of the poem take place?
Explain the time and place
Explain the time and place
Note the places that are mentioned in the poem. The speaker, a landlord telling stories with friends at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts, prepares to tell the tale of Paul Revere's ride on April 18th, 1775. He begins with Revere telling his friend to light one lantern in the belfry of the Old North Church in Boston if the British are coming by land, and two lanterns if they are coming by sea. He will wait and watch on the opposite shore and then ride to warn the countryside. Revere departs as the moon rises over the bay, illuminating the British ship The Somerset.