By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Paul Revere’s Ride By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Narrative Poetry “Paul Revere’s Ride “ Epic poem (shorter than normal epics) Story of historic deeds

Historical Character Usually a mix of fact and fiction Paul Revere – heroic figure One man against the entire British army Revere did not complete his ride. Two other riders not mentioned in poem – William Dawes & Samuel Prescott Warn Samuel Adams & John Hancock

April 18, 1775

The Old North Church The enduring fame of the Old North began on the evening of April 18, 1775, when the church sexton, Robert Newman, climbed the steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land. This fateful event ignited the American Revolution.

Sound Devices Until line 72, the poem is soft and muffled. Mood is stealthy, dangerous. A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats (lines 55-56) Then the poem speeds up,becomes quick. A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark (lines 73-74)

LISTEN my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,   On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;   Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year.   He said to his friend, "If the British march   By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch   Of the North Church tower, as a signal light,? One if by land, and two if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country-folk to be up and to arm."

Battle of Lexington

“The shot heard round the world” Hyperbole Battle of Concord at North Bridge “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson British retreated