Well-Educated Mind Poetry Reading List discussion

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poetry is a breath of fragrant air, which I adored reading. Many of his poems in my edition (Selected Poems - Bloomsbury) covered the themes of youth and memories and also included partial story poems like The Courtship of Miles Standish and The Song of Hiawatha. Both I have read in their entirety elsewhere in my past.

Most of the poems are short and sweet and follow a simple poetic rhyme. They are honest and personal, like The Haunted Chamber, Haunted Houses, Palingenesis, and Something Left Undone. Other themes Longfellow used were references to the sea (or being at sea), night, nature, or death. He also liked to present historical characters as larger than life, like Hiawatha, Paul Revere, and Miles Standish.

My favorites were The Courtship of Miles Standish, Palingenesis, and of course, Paul Revere's Ride. What makes Revere's Ride special is that Longfellow, an abolitionist, wrote the poem with an intent to spur the North to courageous action on the eve of the Civil War, pointing his fellow countrymen back to the spirit of the American Revolution of 1775, and to prepare them for "the bloody work they would look upon." Encouraging words!

Interesting. I love Longfellow. Thank you for sharing the information about Paul Revere's Ride. New information for me.

Diane wrote: "Interesting. I love Longfellow. Thank you for sharing the information about Paul Revere's Ride. New information for me."

You're welcome...it was new to me, too!