Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 1882 Young Longfellow Born

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 -1882

Young Longfellow �Born in Portland, Maine �Loved to read as a boy Heard sailors talking in French, Spanish, and German Loved stories set in foreign countries (Arabian Nights, Robinson Crusoe, and Shakespeare’s plays)

Early Career �Graduated from Bowdoin College �Traveled and studied abroad (Spain, France, Italy, and Germany) �Began is teaching career at Bowdoin (five years) �Traveled overseas again His first wife died of a miscarriage

Writing Career & Tragedy � Taught French and Spanish at Harvard for 18 years � Married his second wife, Frances Appleton Fathered six children � Began writing full time in 1854 � His wife died tragically Her dress caught fire, he tried to save her, and was badly burned himself

Major Works �Long narrative poems Evangeline (1847) and The Song of Hiawatha (1855) �Poems “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Village Blacksmith”

Sonnet � 14 line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter �First part usually introduces a subject; the last part makes a comment on the subject �Two early masters of the sonnet Italian poet Petrarch (1304 -1374) and William Shakespeare (1564 -1616)

Petrarchan Sonnet �Consists of an octave (first 8 lines) and sestet (last 6 lines) �Rhyme scheme abba, cde, cde

“The Cross of Snow” �Wrote 18 years after Fanny died (she caught on fire) �This poem was discovered after Longfellow’s death �Inspired by two portraits – one of Fanny; the other “Mountain of the Holy Cross”