Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

from Boccaccio and Chaucer. The Wayside Inn was an old tavern at Sudbury, and the characters supposed to be gathered there were all real. The youth

[blocks in formation]

was Henry Ware Wales, a liberal benefactor of Harvard College. The young Sicilian was Professor Luigi Monti, an intimate friend, who for many years was in the habit of dining with the poet on Sunday. The Spanish Jew was Israel Edrehi, who is described as the poet knew him. The theologian was Professor Daniel Treadwell. The poet was T. W. Parsons, a man of real genius, but of very retiring nature. The musician was Ole Bull. The tales are borrowed from various sources,modern, medieval, Talmudic, and many of them possess great merit. Paul Revere's Ride" is written with rare vigor. Among the other more notable tales are The Falcon of Ser Federigo,' King Robert of Sicily,' ," "Torquemada," "The Birds of Killingworth," "The Bell of Atri," "The Legend Beautiful," and "Emma and Eginhard."

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

452. "The Golden Legend."-Longfellow early conceived the purpose to build some tower of song with lofty parapet." In 1841 he noted in his diary: "This evening it has come into my mind to undertake a long and elaborate poem by the holy name of Christ; the theme of which could be the various aspects of Christendom in the Apostolic, Middle, and Modern Ages." Though the task was long delayed, this lofty purpose was never relinquished, and through years of thought it slowly assumed definite shape. After nine years he set to work in earnest to compose "The Golden Legend," which was intended to illustrate Christianity in the Middle Ages. It gives a vivid picture of the manners of the thirteenth century. The story running through "The Golden Legend" is taken from the minnesinger Hartmann von der Aue. The poem was published in 1851, without any intimation of the larger work of which it forms the central part.

453. "New England Tragedies." Nearly a score of years passed before another part of the trilogy of "Christus" appeared. It was properly entitled "The New England Tragedies," and is a sickening record of delusion, intolerance, and cruelty. Unfortunately the imagination had but a small share in the work, which is little more than a skilful metrical version of official records. It was published in 1868 as an independent work, and was received rather coldly. Considered in its relation to the larger work, it must be judged unfortunate. It is depressing in itself; it does not represent the spirit of modern Christianity; and it leaves the trilogy of "Christus " incomplete.

454. "The Divine Tragedy." -"The Divine Tragedy," which was published three years later, in 1871, is a close metrical version of the Gospel history. It presents the successive scenes in the life of Christ in a graphic and interesting way. The effort to adhere as closely as possible to the language of the Gospels has prevented a very high degree of metrical excellence. With the publication of “The Divine Tragedy," the plan of the poet was revealed. Though "Christus" will always be read with gentle interest, especially "The Golden Legend," it can hardly rank among his greatest works.

[ocr errors]

Of his other poems, only a

[ocr errors]

455. Several Admirable Poems. few can be mentioned. "The Hanging of the Crane " is a pathetic picture of the common course of domestic life. "Morituri Salutamus is an admirable poem, written for the fiftieth anniversary of the class of 1825 in Bowdoin College. "Keramos is a second successful effort in the manner of Schiller's "Song of the Bell." "A Book of Sonnets " shows Longfellow to have been a master in that difficult form of verse. The several small volumes of lyrics of his later years, while adding little to his fame, showed that the poetic fires within his breast were still burning brightly.

456. Death and Burial. Longfellow had now lived beyond the allotted age of man. He had filled out a beautiful, wellrounded life. Both as a man and as a poet he had gained the respect and love of two generations. But at last, with little

warning, the end came. On March 15, 1882, he completed his last poem, "The Bells of San Blas," with the words,

"Out of the shadows of night

The world rolls into light;

It is daybreak everywhere."

A little more than a week later, March 23, he passed away. The funeral service, in keeping with his unassuming character, was simple. Only his family and a few intimate friends - among them Curtis, Emerson, and Holmes were present; but two

continents were mourning his death.

"His gracious presence upon earth
Was as a fire upon a hearth;

As pleasant songs, at morning sung,

The words that dropped from his sweet tongue
Strengthened our hearts, or, heard at night,
Made all our slumbers soft and light.”

FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY

The annotated selections, pages 530-554, include "A Psalm of Life," "Footsteps of Angels," “The Skeleton in Armor," The Arsenal at Springfield," and "The Building of the Ship."

Read also "My Lost Youth," "Three Friends of Mine," "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "The Village Blacksmith," "The Bridge," "The Warning," "The Belfry of Bruges," "The Day is Done," 66 The Old Clock on the Stairs, ""The Two Angels, ""The Children's Hour," "Paul Revere's Ride," "The Hanging of the Crane," "Keramos," "Morituri Salutamus," "Hiawatha's Wooing," "The Courtship of Miles Standish," and "Evangeline." Samuel Longfellow's "Life of Longfellow" (3 vols.); E. S. Robertson's "Henry W. Longfellow" (Great Writers Series).

For critical estimates consult the general bibliography and Poole's "Index," particularly Geo. Wm. Curtis's "Longfellow," Harper, June, 1882; Horace E. Scudder's "Men and Letters," and E. C. Stedman's "Poets of America."

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

[graphic]
[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

None of our literary men were great in so many ways. He ranks high as a poet. His critical papers are among the most elaborate and excellent produced in this country. He was a speaker of no mean ability, and a scholar of wide attainments. But overshadowing all these literary accomplishments stands his personality, a man of strong intellect, with wide sympathies, and sterling integrity.

458. Forceful Originality. — He appeared among the earlier singers of the century. Though influenced for a time, as all young writers are apt to be, by favorite authors, Lowell is strikingly original. In his earlier verse we detect an occasional note from Tennyson or Wordsworth; but his strong intellect soon hewed out a course of its own. His mind was tumultuous with the interests of his day. He rushed to the combat for truth and freedom with abounding zeal. He proclaimed his message in

verse distinguished, not for harmony and grace, but for vehemence and force. He was armed with heroic courage:

"They are slaves who dare not be

In the right with two or three. ’

He believed in bravely doing his part to right existing wrongs; for

"God hates your sneakin' creturs that believe

He'll settle things they run away and leave."

459. New England Spirit. — Lowell was a New Englander, not only by birth, but by spirit and affection. He was proud of his Puritan ancestry. He loved the landscape of New England and the character of its people. This affection gave him a keen insight into the strength and weakness of New England character, and made him delight in its peculiar dialect:

"For puttin' in a downright lick

'Twixt Humbug's eyes, there's few can metch it, And then it helves my thoughts ez slick

Ez stret-grained hickory doos a hetchet."

Though a broad-minded patriot, he remained throughout life a doughty champion of New England.

460. Distinguished Ancestry. - The Lowell name has an honored place in the history of Massachusetts. Each generation, since the first settlement of the family at Newbury in 1639, has had its distinguished representative. The city of Lowell is named after Francis Cabot Lowell, who was among the first to perceive that the prosperity of New England was to come from its manufactures. John Lowell was an eminent judge, and introduced into the Constitution the section by which slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. John Lowell, Jr., by a bequest. of $250,000, founded Lowell Institute in Boston. As a family, the Lowells have been distinguished for practical sense, liberal thought, and earnest character.

« AnteriorContinuar »