Easton Press Henry Wadsworth Longfellow books:
The Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1980
Franklin Library Henry Wadsworth Longfellow books:
Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - World's Best Loved Books - 1981
Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature - 1984
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet who was born in Portland Maine. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was educated at Bowdoin College, and also studied in France, Italy, and Spain. He later became a professor of modern language at Bowdoin College and at Harvard University from 1835 to 1854, after which he devoted himself entirely to writing books. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the most celebrated and popular American poets of his time. The sales of his books of verse amounted to more than three hundred thousand copies by 1857. He was honored by royal and educational institutions in Europe and England as a great figure of American literature; after his death a bust of him, the first of an American writer, was placed in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the author of some of the most famous American poems, including The Village Blacksmith, Paul Revere's Ride, The Wreck of the Hesperus, Excelsior, My Lost Youth, The Psalm of Life, and The Skeleton in Armor. His books of poetry are characterized by familiar themes, easily grasped ideas, and clear, simple, melodious language. Most modern day critics are not in agreement with the popularity held by his contemporaries. According to present standards the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is trite and commonplace in idea, and lacks genuine lyric power; and his reaction to nature and basic emotions is superficial. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow nevertheless remains a greatly popular American writer.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow received his first wide spread public recognition with his book of verse Voices of the Night (1839). Other poetry books of his include Ballads and Other Poems (1841); three long narrative poems about American themes, Evangeline (1847), The Song of Hiawatha (1855), and The Courtship of Miles Standish (1858); The Seaside and the Fireside (1850); Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863); Three Books of Song (1872); Aftermath (1873); The Hanging of the Crane (1874); and Ultima Thule (1880). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was also the author of a verse translation of Dante's Divine Comedy (1867); and a number of prose books, including a travel books and two novels.