Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 27 February 1807 – 24 March 1882

Born in Portland, Maine – can trace ancestry to John and Priscilla Alden, Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Published his first poem at age 13 and dreamed of “future eminence (fame) in literature.” Entered Bowdoin College where he was a classmate of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Was professor of languages at Bowdoin for six years before moving to Harvard where he would teach for twenty years.

Voices of the Night published in 1839 – resigned professorship in 1855 to devote all of his time to writing (James Russell Lowell took the position.) First wife Mary died of an infection following a miscarriage (Nov. 1835) The poem “Psalm of Life” was written in response to the depression Longfellow suffered as a result. Married Francis Appleton in 1843 – Nathan Appleton gave his daughter and her husband a house in Cambridge – Craigie House became the literary capital of the U.S.

Francis was fatally burned when her dress caught fire as she was sealing her children’s hair into an envelope with wax. Longfellow was badly burned trying to put out the flames. Scars on his face forced him to grow a beard. Longfellow loved children – immortalized his three daughters in the poem “The Children’s Hour.” On his death in 1882, a bust was placed in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey – Longfellow was the first American to be so immortalized.

Things to Remember: Introduced the long narrative poem – American subjects and themes – a romanticized view of U.S. history and democratic ideals. Work was translated into two dozen languages and read by millions Criticized for being overly optimistic and sentimental.