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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Works

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Works

This anthology collects poetry and other writings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Source: This book was compiled by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology and includes passages from multiple sources. Please refer to the passage pages for further source information.

An April Day
The poet celebrates spring, as nature recovers from the harshness of winter.
The Arrow and the Song
A poem about the bond of friendship.
The Arsenal at Springfield
A poem about violence and war.
Autumn Sonnet
A poem centered around Autumn and nature.
The Beleaguered City
This poem describes a haunted scene after a battle and how the flow of life has won.
The Belfry of Bruges, Carillon
A poem about the ringing of the bells in a Flemish belfry
The Belfry of Bruges
The poem decribes the author’s dream centered around the town belfry
The Bridge
A poem about hope (using water as a metaphor)
Burial of the Minnisink
The poem describes the funeral of a Native American chief.
Dante
Longfellow’s poem describing someone troubled confessing to a clergyman
The Day is Done
A poem about escaping from the sorrows and loneliness of the night by reading great works of literature
Endymion
A poem about love using images of acient mythological figures
The Evening Star
A poem describing a star as if it were a beautiful woman
Excelsior
The poem describes a young man passing through a town bearing the banner “Excelsior” (translated from Latin as “ever higher”), ignoring all warnings, climbing higher until inevitably, “lifeless, but beautiful” he lies half-buried in the snow.
Flowers
Flowers contain all the beauty, love, hope, death, rebirth that is life, if one but looks closely.
Footsteps of Angels
Friendly ghosts cheer the narrator with their nocturnal visits.
A Gleam of Sunshine
A poem describing the beauty and the wonders of nature bathed in sunlight.
The Goblet of Life
The author uses the goblet as a metaphor for life itself. It’s bitter to those who “haven’t lived”.
God's Acre
A poem describing a burial mound as “God’s Acre” (taken from an ancient Saxon phrase)
The Good Part That Shall Not Be Taken Away
A poem of liberation
Hymn to the Night
The speaker hails and welcomes the coming of Night.
Inscription for an Antique Pitcher
A poem describing the story of a wine pitcher as used in ancient days
It Is Not Always May
This poem descibes youth and beauty using nature as a metaphor.
L'envoi
The poet ruminates on voices in the night.
The Light of Stars
The poet muses upon seeing Mars in the night sky, and contemplates how Mars’s steadfastness reminds him to endure life’s hardships.
Maidenhood
A poem describing the wonders of womanhood
Mezzo Cammin
This poem relays the feelings of what might have been and mistakes made in the past (in rhyme scheme).
Midnight Mass for the Dying Year
The poet ruminates on the coming of winter.
The Norman Baron
A poem regarding a dying French baron who, at the end of his life, frees his slaves in order to redeem his soul.
Nuremberg
This poem describes the artistic town of Nuremburg through the eyes of merchants and laborers
The Occultation of Orion
This poem describes a battle fought by the constellation Orion
The Old Clock on the Stairs
A poem explaining that despite death, time goes on.
Psalm of Life
Live fully; get out and do things. The purpose of life is to live it.
The Quadroon Girl
This poem describes the sale of a beautiful young concubine
Rain in Summer
This poem uses the rain to describe time as eternal.
The Rainy Day
A rainy day brings thoughts of the past and of current troubles.
The Reaper and the Flowers
Death comes to gather flowers for saints to wear.
Serenade
A man protects his lady while she sleeps.
The Skeleton in Armor
A Viking ghost wants his story retold.
The Slave in the Dismal Swamp
The author gives an account of a runaway slave who escapes his master’s beatings.
The Slave Singing at Midnight
The author describes coming upon a slave singing in a prison cell, when a tragedy occurred
The Slave's Dream
A poet describes a slave’s mental escape from reality during a fatal beating
The Spirit of Poetry
The natural world is the source of poetry.
Sunrise on the Hills
The poet ruminates upon the morning sun shining on the woods and hills. He encourages readers to spend more time in nature to soothe their souls.
To a Child
Longfellow talks to a child about the good and the bad of the real world.
To an Old Danish Song-book
The travels of a tattered and worn songbook
To the Driving Cloud
A poem describing the discontented feelings of the Native American population of the time, while describing the beautiful imagery of their surrounding nature.
To the River Charles
Longfellow uses the river as a metaphor for life and friendship.
To William E. Channing
The author writes to Mr. Channing that the end of the world is near, but urges him to continue writing.
The Village Blacksmith
This is a poem about life from the focus of a widowed father and a wage earner (smithy) who works hard and steadily, earning from his effort.
Walter Von Der Vogelweid
A man dies and requests that the monks feed the birds every day at noontime.
The Warning
The author sends the reader a warning about the abuse of power and uses religious figures as examples.
The Witnesses
The poet describes slave death ships.
Woods in Winter
The poet sees the differences in nature in winter, but still values winter.
The Wreck of the Hesperus
A proud seaman refuses to heed warnings of a storm. As the weather worsens, he ties his daughter to the mast for safety, but soon the father and crew are killed in the icy storm. The ship then wrecks on Norman’s Woe, killing the daughter as well.
Autumn
A poem admiring the beauty, differences, and changes in seasonal weather.
  • Year Published: 2012
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Readability:
    • Flesch–Kincaid Level: 8.7
  • Word Count: 18,227
  • Genre: Poetry
  • Keywords: autumn, friendship, nature, seasons, spring, war, weather
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