Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mrs. Wells
English III -5
6 October, 2009
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow report
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow born in February 27, 1807 was in a group called
the fireside poets which includes famous poets like John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver
Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and William Cullen Bryant. Henry Longfellow
was reputed to be the most popular poet of his day and the most outstanding poet
the country had produced. Henry Longfellow was also consider one of the first
American celebrities and was also well known in Europe.
Henry began flirting with Frances Appleton, the daughter of a wealthy Boston
industrialist, Nathan Appleton and sister of Thomas Gold Appleton. Henry was very
persistent and in 1839 he published Hyperion a book in prose inspired by his trips
abroad and his unsuccessful courtship of Fanny Appleton (Frances Appleton). in
1842 Poems on Slavery were published as Henry’s support of abolitionism, but his
poems were so mild that it was said that” a slaveholder might read it without losing
his appetite for breakfast”. Finally after seven long years on May 10, 1843 Fanny
Appleton agree to marry him. They married and their birthday present from
Fanny’s father was the Craigie House where Henry would live the rest of his life in.
Henry wrote “the Evening Star” and “O my beloved, my sweet Hesperus! My
morning and my evening star of love!” which made his love for Fanny evident.
Fanny and Henry had six children together and Henry’s salary kept increasing with
each passing year.
Fanny burn and later die when her dress caught on fire, though it is unclear
exactly how it happened. Henry tried to save her and got his face burn so due to his
facial injuries he stop shaving, therefore wearing the beard which has become his
trade mark. He never fully recovered from her death and would beg not to be put in
an asylum. Eighteen years pass and he wrote the poem “The Cross of Snow” to tell
how nothing had change even when fanny was not with him. He was making over
$48,000 per year by 1868 and supported abolitionism. He also hoped for the south
and the north to recover from the American Civil War. In March 1882, Henry got a
severe stomach pain and survived several days but later die on Friday, March 24,
1882 surrounded by his Family.
Most of Henry work is categorized as lyric poetry, but he also tried many form
like hexameter and free verse and others. He didn’t believe in adding
autobiographical elements to his poetry and he would pick his subject for a long
time. Allegory, didacticism, metaphor he use often in his poems. While Henry was a
great poet he was also a well know translator and it was his job as well. Henry
Longfellow help shape the American character by poems like “Paul Revere’s Ride”
and others. His subjects were pleasing to the majorities and he was criticize for
that ,but to say the true is isn’t ever criticize and why is criticism taken as
something bad may be is because he was doing something good, but I do hate the
guy because of him I am writing this report.