“Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere”.
These are the opening lines of one of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s most famous poems, ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’. While many poets of his generation were busy creating complicated masterpieces with oblique references and obscure meanings, Longfellow poured his simplicity into his poems. They neither took the reader to poignant heights nor wretched lows but described with gentle imagery the deeds of honest men and women.
Critics have called his poetry childish and worthless but for many children and families across America there was no better poet to read by the fireside at the end of day.
Born on February 27, 1807 in Portland in the US state of Maine to descendants of pioneers, Longfellow knew very early on that he would devote his life to literature.
His parents encouraged his aspirations and sent him on a European tour to learn French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German. Apart from his poetry Longfellow is also known for his translations of Dante Alighieri’s ‘Divine Comedy’ and the poetry of Michelangelo.
Longfellow was married twice. His first wife died shortly after childbirth and his second from burn injuries when she accidentally dropped a self-lighting match on herself. His grief at both the tragedies was great and he channelled his sorrow into poems such as ‘Footsteps of Angels’ and the ‘Village Blacksmith’.
One of the true gems of American literature, Longfellow died on March 24, 1882 and this year we commemorate his 140th death anniversary.
Picture Credit : Google
