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The Courtship of Miles Standish
The subject of this poem is purely American. The foundation for it is a real and famous chapter in history, the settlement of the Pilgrims at Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts. All the characters found in the poem were real persons who lived in the Plymouth colony.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1858
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459 people want to read
About the author
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
2,877 books735 followersExtremely popular works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, in the United States in his lifetime, include
The Song of Hiawatha
in 1855 and a translation from 1865 to 1867 of
Divine Comedy
of Dante Alighieri.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow educated. His originally wrote the "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Evangeline." From New England, he first completed work of the fireside.
Bowdoin College graduated Longefellow, who served as a professor, afterward studied in Europe, and later moved at Harvard. After a miscarriage, Mary Potter Longfellow, his first wife, died in 1835. He first collected Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841).
From teaching, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow retired in 1854 to focus on his writing in the headquarters of of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the Revolutionary War for the remainder.
Dress of Frances Appleton Longfellow, his second wife, caught fire; she then sustained burns and afterward died in 1861. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing and focused on from foreign languages.
Longfellow wrote musicality of many known lyrics and often presented stories of mythology and legend. He succeeded most overseas of his day. He imitated European styles and wrote too sentimentally for critics.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow educated. His originally wrote the "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Evangeline." From New England, he first completed work of the fireside.
Bowdoin College graduated Longefellow, who served as a professor, afterward studied in Europe, and later moved at Harvard. After a miscarriage, Mary Potter Longfellow, his first wife, died in 1835. He first collected Voices of the Night (1839) and Ballads and Other Poems (1841).
From teaching, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow retired in 1854 to focus on his writing in the headquarters of of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the Revolutionary War for the remainder.
Dress of Frances Appleton Longfellow, his second wife, caught fire; she then sustained burns and afterward died in 1861. After her death, Longfellow had difficulty writing and focused on from foreign languages.
Longfellow wrote musicality of many known lyrics and often presented stories of mythology and legend. He succeeded most overseas of his day. He imitated European styles and wrote too sentimentally for critics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
December 10, 2020
Oh Henry! I love your words. . .
Here's a romance that sets the standards for romance. Nearly two hundred years after the event of which Longfellow is writing, he captures the love story. . .or more specifically the love triangle of Priscilla Mullins, Myles Standish and John Alden, and when it is laid out it could be one in your very own neighborhood, workplace or school. There is a victor, a loser and the prize. Often the prize is unpersoned, just an award to win. . .thankfully HWL allows Priscilla all the spunk and fight she must have truly had in her real existence to make it through that awful voyage, her family tragedies and then a long life with at least eleven babes born of the match that was finally made.
Since it was the Thanksgiving season and I was dabbling in my Mayflower reads, I threw this one in, for these are my 9th great grandparents, and I could double count my reading and genealogy columns for this day.
It won't take you long, and it is his attempt at documenting history. That said, it is history one reads with knitted brows in places where Standish takes his personal disappointments out on Native Peoples, and the relish with which HWL writes of it explains more about where white gents of the mid 1800s were in their thinking and racial prejudices than the documenting of accurate historical events two hundred years previous. For that I remove a star.
Here's a romance that sets the standards for romance. Nearly two hundred years after the event of which Longfellow is writing, he captures the love story. . .or more specifically the love triangle of Priscilla Mullins, Myles Standish and John Alden, and when it is laid out it could be one in your very own neighborhood, workplace or school. There is a victor, a loser and the prize. Often the prize is unpersoned, just an award to win. . .thankfully HWL allows Priscilla all the spunk and fight she must have truly had in her real existence to make it through that awful voyage, her family tragedies and then a long life with at least eleven babes born of the match that was finally made.
Since it was the Thanksgiving season and I was dabbling in my Mayflower reads, I threw this one in, for these are my 9th great grandparents, and I could double count my reading and genealogy columns for this day.
It won't take you long, and it is his attempt at documenting history. That said, it is history one reads with knitted brows in places where Standish takes his personal disappointments out on Native Peoples, and the relish with which HWL writes of it explains more about where white gents of the mid 1800s were in their thinking and racial prejudices than the documenting of accurate historical events two hundred years previous. For that I remove a star.
December 20, 2015
I have read this many times, most often at the Thanksgiving season as a family read aloud. This time I listened to a very good audio version on Librovox. It is a lovely little historical gem, pitting the fiery Miles Standish against his friend John Alden in their pursuit of the lovely maiden Priscilla. Longfellow is quintessentially American, his love for new world romance shining through in every luminous passage. He ably weaves in Biblical imagery, so appropriate to the telling of this Puritan story. An hour invested in reading this poem gives the reader the pleasure of beautiful language, a dash of humor, and a satisfying happy ending that leaves the heart uplifted.
December 4, 2013
What a refreshing change of pace. A great Sunday read about a long-ago ancestor. The book belonged to my great-grandfather, Howard Engh, and was given to me by my grandmother. A neat "decorative" book, it sat on my shelf for years and years until I was finally curious enough to open it up.
In essence, it's a love-triangle of pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower in the form of a poetic ballad.
In essence, it's a love-triangle of pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower in the form of a poetic ballad.
January 30, 2019
Based on historical events with a love triangle and a happy ending - short, but entertaining, narrative poem.
October 5, 2025
I found this quite boring.
November 6, 2018
Longfellow gently questions military machismo in his story of a love triangle among the pilgrim fathers.
December 6, 2024
Narrative poem depicting the romance of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, my 11th great grandparents (along with over a million other people lol), on Plymouth Plantation.
Basically Miles Standish, the brutish military man, wanted Priscilla but she rejected him, and the previously friendzoned John Alden swooped in, they lived happily ever after and had a whopping 10 children
Basically Miles Standish, the brutish military man, wanted Priscilla but she rejected him, and the previously friendzoned John Alden swooped in, they lived happily ever after and had a whopping 10 children
February 20, 2023
Loved this book. Will join the other 'forever' books on my bookshelf.
June 29, 2021
Was this supposed to be humorous?
I laughed out loud at some events described--like the insane anger of Standish, or John Alden's elation at finding his friend dead, confessing love to their triangle seemingly before his body's gone cold.
At other points, I found myself astounded at how well Longfellow wrote, and, most specifically, at his word choice. This poem is written in dactylic hexameter, but my learning in the area of poetic structure is lacking, and, though attempted, I do not think I fully grasp the complexity of Longfellow's use of the form (with my beginners ability, I can point out regular dactyls and spondees, but I know not the more complex substitutions which, derived from the examples surrounding Evangeline, our author seemed to use in this type of poem); therefore, my appreciate is measured by my ignorance, and I am only able to view his language with any amount of critical clarity.
One must ask the question, why is this poem entitled the Courtship of Miles Standish? The author probably just means that Miles Standish is the one that initiates the courting, or in his way courts--meaning, here, attempts to woo--through Alden, thus cleverly showing the conceit of the poem: Alden accidentally courting Priscilla through his faithfulness to both his inner love and his friendship. But one could take it to mean the courtship of Standish in the sense of partners coming to love each other, and thus we see Standish coming to greater appreciate (and seemingly wed) war, something he throughout the story shows a fondness for.
Priscilla is an awesome character. Her inner thoughts are expressed vibrantly, and she has a bite; she will not be the ever-enduring woman idealized often. Although she does say that her outbreaks are wrong in some way, and seemingly accepts her fate as a woman of the time, she yet still shows herself strong in the face of it. I think her lines in the poem are the best ones, although not the most beautiful.
The strong will toward a distrust of love which infects the heart of Alden is also interesting, thematically; we can see through how the story is written out that religion of itself is not considered evil or tainting to the heart, and thus is something to be shed to allow the light to fall upon our darkened forms. Instead, the progression of the story is with Alden as defiance of his religious thoughts, and, later, the religious coding of the finale tends to make one think that his shedding of personal religious thoughts were the shedding of a false, painful religion, for one more true to himself and the world. The story's crescendo for him is more about losing the guilt of loving rather than accepting it.
Standish's arc seems to be that of overcoming his anger. He brings his wrath down upon Native people, unfortunately (even the plot seems to know this, considering the one Elder who says that peaceable dealing is more rational and Christian; Standish, in his emotional confliction, simply overrules). In this way, we might say that Standish is being questioned, and his angry, war-like piping is, by the end, totally denounced not only by himself, but by the plot, I suppose, when we see that the removal of his life would have been better for everyone! (Then, of course, his return allows for an even happier ending.)
Still, the racism that our author uses to delineate Native Americans is really not great. It is odd that he would write the Song of Hiawatha, where the Natives are said to have created peace-pipes, and who use those peace-pipes on the white men, should be so stereotyped here.
I laughed out loud at some events described--like the insane anger of Standish, or John Alden's elation at finding his friend dead, confessing love to their triangle seemingly before his body's gone cold.
At other points, I found myself astounded at how well Longfellow wrote, and, most specifically, at his word choice. This poem is written in dactylic hexameter, but my learning in the area of poetic structure is lacking, and, though attempted, I do not think I fully grasp the complexity of Longfellow's use of the form (with my beginners ability, I can point out regular dactyls and spondees, but I know not the more complex substitutions which, derived from the examples surrounding Evangeline, our author seemed to use in this type of poem); therefore, my appreciate is measured by my ignorance, and I am only able to view his language with any amount of critical clarity.
One must ask the question, why is this poem entitled the Courtship of Miles Standish? The author probably just means that Miles Standish is the one that initiates the courting, or in his way courts--meaning, here, attempts to woo--through Alden, thus cleverly showing the conceit of the poem: Alden accidentally courting Priscilla through his faithfulness to both his inner love and his friendship. But one could take it to mean the courtship of Standish in the sense of partners coming to love each other, and thus we see Standish coming to greater appreciate (and seemingly wed) war, something he throughout the story shows a fondness for.
Priscilla is an awesome character. Her inner thoughts are expressed vibrantly, and she has a bite; she will not be the ever-enduring woman idealized often. Although she does say that her outbreaks are wrong in some way, and seemingly accepts her fate as a woman of the time, she yet still shows herself strong in the face of it. I think her lines in the poem are the best ones, although not the most beautiful.
The strong will toward a distrust of love which infects the heart of Alden is also interesting, thematically; we can see through how the story is written out that religion of itself is not considered evil or tainting to the heart, and thus is something to be shed to allow the light to fall upon our darkened forms. Instead, the progression of the story is with Alden as defiance of his religious thoughts, and, later, the religious coding of the finale tends to make one think that his shedding of personal religious thoughts were the shedding of a false, painful religion, for one more true to himself and the world. The story's crescendo for him is more about losing the guilt of loving rather than accepting it.
Standish's arc seems to be that of overcoming his anger. He brings his wrath down upon Native people, unfortunately (even the plot seems to know this, considering the one Elder who says that peaceable dealing is more rational and Christian; Standish, in his emotional confliction, simply overrules). In this way, we might say that Standish is being questioned, and his angry, war-like piping is, by the end, totally denounced not only by himself, but by the plot, I suppose, when we see that the removal of his life would have been better for everyone! (Then, of course, his return allows for an even happier ending.)
Still, the racism that our author uses to delineate Native Americans is really not great. It is odd that he would write the Song of Hiawatha, where the Natives are said to have created peace-pipes, and who use those peace-pipes on the white men, should be so stereotyped here.
August 14, 2010
It's a little cheesy at times:
"Truly, Priscilla," he said, "when I see you spinning and spinning,And awesome at others:
Never idle a moment, but thrifty and thoughtful of others,
Suddenly you are transformed, are visibly changed in a moment;
You are no longer Priscilla, but Bertha the Beautiful Spinner."
"Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted
High on the roof of the church, a preacher who speaks to the purpose,
Steady, straightforward, and strong, with irresistible logic,
Orthodox, flashing conviction right into the hearts of the heathen.
March 15, 2024
Really liked it.
I have skin in the game.
Like many today, there is a physical link back to John Alden and Priscilla Mullens.
My Mom was a Miles no less. Out of Massachusetts. Came to North central Indiana with the first settlers.
Loved Portland Maine, place of Longfellows birth.
Houston was 90s in
June,
ME was 50s.
So nice.
Mine has no date, but it has very old looking brown pages. It is red with a nice design on the cover.
WB Conkey Company Chicago.
I have a second copy that has no date, looks old
It is in much better shape. It is an ugly tan/yellow with a pink rose. Hurst & Co. NY.
I have skin in the game.
Like many today, there is a physical link back to John Alden and Priscilla Mullens.
My Mom was a Miles no less. Out of Massachusetts. Came to North central Indiana with the first settlers.
Loved Portland Maine, place of Longfellows birth.
Houston was 90s in
June,
ME was 50s.
So nice.
Mine has no date, but it has very old looking brown pages. It is red with a nice design on the cover.
WB Conkey Company Chicago.
I have a second copy that has no date, looks old
It is in much better shape. It is an ugly tan/yellow with a pink rose. Hurst & Co. NY.
November 26, 2015
While I certainly wouldn't recommend taking an accurate history lesson from this poem, it is a delightful piece of writing. Telling the fictionalized story of the friends Myles Standish and John Alden who are both interested in the fair lady, Priscilla Mullins, the poem is filled with imagery of the beauty of nature interwoven with strong human emotions and the author's fictionalized ideal of Plymouth Colony.
Longfellow is definitely one of my favorite American poets, and this poetry does not disappoint...but it's not a history lesson. :)
Longfellow is definitely one of my favorite American poets, and this poetry does not disappoint...but it's not a history lesson. :)
August 6, 2009
There's some unfortunate rather casual racism with regards to the Native Americans in this story, but the rest of the story is a nice little slice-of-life picture of Pilgrim life. This will likely end up being a fairly regular Thanksgiving read for me.
April 27, 2011
but it was still better than the Twilight series.
May 22, 2016
This is a really beautiful and well done work of literary romance which will warm your heart and soul.
November 13, 2021
"Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed on the landscape,
Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the east-wind,
Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the ocean,
Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine."
Longfellow's poem is filled with just such beautiful descriptions as this. Easy to read, the action throughout the story flows steadily without lagging. I found it very enjoyable. Many nods to Biblical people and themes were interwoven throughout, which gave deeper meaning to some passages.
It was interesting to see references to some happenings we've been reading of elsewhere in our Thanksgiving selections; for instance, the receipt of a snakeskin filled with arrows as a threat of war, and the skin returned carrying powder and shot in response.
This lovely narrative will be something to revisit annually.
Note: there is some violence and killing, and the Native Americans are, unfortunately, referred to as 'savages.'
Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the east-wind,
Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the ocean,
Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine."
Longfellow's poem is filled with just such beautiful descriptions as this. Easy to read, the action throughout the story flows steadily without lagging. I found it very enjoyable. Many nods to Biblical people and themes were interwoven throughout, which gave deeper meaning to some passages.
It was interesting to see references to some happenings we've been reading of elsewhere in our Thanksgiving selections; for instance, the receipt of a snakeskin filled with arrows as a threat of war, and the skin returned carrying powder and shot in response.
This lovely narrative will be something to revisit annually.
Note: there is some violence and killing, and the Native Americans are, unfortunately, referred to as 'savages.'
November 17, 2019
An old book with the beautiful illustrations by NC Wyeth. Preface by Longfellow who says that he was a direct descendant of Priscilla and John Alden (The subject of the book). Is it verse...is it prose? It is certainly not rhyming verse but obviously designed to be read as verse. An interesting story with the conflict between old friends , Miles Standish the old soldier and John Aldren ...the bookish winner in the contest for Priscilla's hand. I was not especially taken with the poem itself. Ok but didn't especially grab me. But I really bought it for the illustrations and some of these are great...some rather ordinary.
November 27, 2021
"…for it is the fate of a woman / Long to be patient and silent, to wait like a ghost that is speechless / Till some questioning voice dissolves the spell of its silence.”
Love triangle set in Plymouth among the Pilgrims. Good Thanksgiving fare. And it’s hard not to like dactyls and trochees once you get that thunderous rhythm in your head. The monotony develops a certain driving force. But something in Longfellow seems to dry up when he attempts longer poems. His short verse has the power to carry you away. “The Day Is Done,” “Paul Revere’s Ride” both leave me breathless in different ways. Can’t say the same for this otherwise diverting work.
Love triangle set in Plymouth among the Pilgrims. Good Thanksgiving fare. And it’s hard not to like dactyls and trochees once you get that thunderous rhythm in your head. The monotony develops a certain driving force. But something in Longfellow seems to dry up when he attempts longer poems. His short verse has the power to carry you away. “The Day Is Done,” “Paul Revere’s Ride” both leave me breathless in different ways. Can’t say the same for this otherwise diverting work.
August 29, 2022
I've read before but it's been many years.
This summer read Evangeline, Song of Hiawatha, and now Miles S. I found Hiawatha to be the least unified and I didn't enjoy the meter as much as I do the dactylic (mostly) hexameter of the other two poems.
The backstory of this poem is interesting, as Longfellow claims it is a family legend.
I can't say as anyone will ever feel sorry for Standish losing in his endeavor, not only for the portrayal of Standish as a guy who can read all day of Roman battles but hasn't the time to win the one he loves, but also for what we know of the historical Standish.
This summer read Evangeline, Song of Hiawatha, and now Miles S. I found Hiawatha to be the least unified and I didn't enjoy the meter as much as I do the dactylic (mostly) hexameter of the other two poems.
The backstory of this poem is interesting, as Longfellow claims it is a family legend.
I can't say as anyone will ever feel sorry for Standish losing in his endeavor, not only for the portrayal of Standish as a guy who can read all day of Roman battles but hasn't the time to win the one he loves, but also for what we know of the historical Standish.
May 22, 2018
Picked this up before a family trip to Plymouth Plantation. Was great to give some context to the Pilgrim experience. The love triangle between one of the few eligible women in the New World, a young single man and the venerable military leader who protects the colony is a fascinating chapter in the early settlement.
July 14, 2020
too much fighty stuff (especially given concern/preference that my reading/regard of this poem not cause any war or killing - that's stuff i generally don't like/want, and i didn't even know what was in this poem before i read it just now), but some of the nice parts are nice and the favorable guy is not the war guy
November 27, 2020
Every time I read this piece, I find myself absorbed in the dramatic emotional developments and rich descriptions. They drive me in a delighted frenzy that requires me to absorb it all in a single sitting.
February 7, 2024
Read this to further my research, ending up crying in a Starbucks over the delicately laid tenderness that swells up between lines and stanzas, endless quotes I will carry for a long while, everyone should read this odd romantic poetry tale.
April 10, 2018
I'm not really one for poetry, but I truly enjoyed that read. I couldn't find the poem in a book at the library, so I just read it online since it's now public domain. :)
July 13, 2018
This is actually a well written poem that explores relationships of those who lived in the early days when America first became a nation.
August 28, 2019
An epic poem very much in the standard of Longfellow. Heightened, purple, glorified, moral, hinging on the mythical, but readable and doesn't take too long.
June 28, 2020
I liked it better than I thought I would. Quick and easy to read.
October 26, 2020
Read this book for class many years ago as an assignment. Fell in love with it. Plan on listening to the audiobook version again.
October 28, 2020
My favorite poem!
December 27, 2020
Priscilla is an interesting character. Although written by a male, Victorian author, and set in the Puritan Plymouth Bay Colony, she seems to me to be the one in control.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews