Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Works
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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.