Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Influences

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a man of flowing words, was born on February 27, 1807, Portland, Maine. The first Longfellow came to America in 1676 from England. His mother was Zilpah Wadsworth Longfellow. Her father, Peleg Wadsworth, had been a general in the Revolutionary War. His father, Stephen Longfellow, was a lawyer. He started school when he was three and became one of the school’s best students. Longfellow was naturally drawn to words. His mother read his brothers, sisters, and him the romance of Ossian, and Don Quixote. His favorite book, though, was Washington Irving’s “Sketch Book”. Longfellow once wrote later, “Every reader has his first book. I mean to say, one book among all others which in early youth first fascinates his imagination, …show more content…
He wrote in free verse, sonnets, and almost all types of flowing poems. Longfellow evokes a sense of optimism and faith in his poems. Some of his most famous poems, or “poem stories”, are ‘Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie’, ‘Song of Hiawatha’, and ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’. “Evangeline’ was important because it defined Acadian history and identity. ‘Song of Hiawatha’ is the story of a Native American boy who was destined to carry all of the hurt of the people so they could live better lives. He has a vision about white people coming to them and teaching them a new religion, and at the end he paddles away in a canoe and does not know when he will come back. This symbolizes the life of the Native Americans before the whites threatened their lands when they came over to America. Paul Revere’s Ride’ is one of the most symbolic poems of the American Revolution. It tells the history of Paul Revere’s legendary ride to warn the people of the British troops invasion. America so they could find a way to defeat them. All of Longfellow’s poems symbolize some part of America and its new life when he was