Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Works
The Spirit of Poetry
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The natural world is the source of poetry.
The natural world is the source of poetry.
"My cot was down by a cypress grove,"
The author marvels at the flat nature of his surroundings.
Little Bear causes his father to lose a fish.
"A great question which people like to quarrel about is:—Who or What made things be as they are?"
"Whut time ‘d dat clock strike?"
A young shepherd refuses to abide by the laws of the kingdom when the king sneezes. The shepherd survives three perilous trials and refused three magnificent gifts for the hand of the princess in marriage, which he eventually gets out of the king’s frustration.
"Kind solace in a dying hour!"
The miller’s wedding was to be a big event, therefore he invited men and animals alike. Various animals go on their way to the wedding until a young boy warns them of the cruelty of man. Those that don’t heed his advice never return from the wedding and remain the servants of man.
Captain Ahab finally makes an appearance.
A Viking ghost wants his story retold.
"Standin’ at de winder,"
Come to the pane, draw the curtain apart,
The poem decribes the author’s dream centered around the town belfry
A little pig boy is caught by a bear and tied to a tree by his tail. When his brother rescues him, his tail is permanantly curled. From now on, he was called Curly.
Tom and Becky are found and the cave is sealed off, presumably with Injun Joe inside.
"The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,"
Abraham Lincoln enjoyed telling stories of his youth and early manhood, but he wrote very little about himself. The following is the longest statement he has set down anywhere about his own life. And he did this only at the earnest request of a fellow citizen in Illinois, Mr. Fell.
"Hit ’s been drizzlin’ an’ been sprinklin’,"
A queen's prayers are answered, but is betrayed by her cook.
'Tis said that when, The hands of men, Tamed this primeval wood,
Queequeg's tale is concluded. Ishmael and Queequeg seek employment at sea.
The prince decides to offer himself as the sacrifice for the princess and her lake.
"When labor is light and the morning is fair,"
Iron Hans assists a worthy prince in a series of adventures.