Henry Longfellow: biography and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The work of Henry Longfellow is known to any more or less educated person. His romantic poetry is a bright page in American literature and culture. Let's talk about how the fate of the poet developed, what influenced his work and what books of the writer everyone should read.

Childhood and origins

The future poet Henry Longfellow was born on February 27, 1807 in Portland, Maine. His family came from Yorkshire. Henry's ancestors came to the US in the 17th century and held strict Puritan views. In the small town of Portland, the Longfellows were highly respected. The father of the future writer was a lawyer, a member of Congress and provided his family with a good welfare.

Henry from childhood lived in abundance and could devote his time to his favorite activities. He was a very dreamy and impressionable child. When the boy heard how the sailors spoke Spanish, French, Italian in the port, he imagined distant countries and dreamed of travel and adventure. He read a lotespecially fond of Washington Irving. It was under the influence of this American romantic that Longfellow began to try his hand at poetry. Already at the age of 13, Henry published his first poems in the local city newspaper.

Education

Primary education Henry Longfellow, whose biography in the early years was associated with Portland, received in his hometown. After that, he entered Bowden College at Harvard University, where he studied with the future outstanding American writer, romantic Nathaniel Hawthorne.

In 1825, Henry graduated from college and was offered a position as professor of new languages. In order to pass the qualifying exam, Longfellow goes on a big European trip, which lasted for three years. He traveled to Italy, France, Spain, England, where he deeply studied literature and languages. After that, he was ready to start teaching.

Science and teaching

In 1829, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose biography was forever associated with literature, began to work at Bowden College. After 6 years, he was invited to the post of professor at Harvard University. According to the already established tradition, Longfellow first goes to Europe, where he improves his skills during the year. He then goes to work at Harvard.

During his years of teaching, Henry has developed several scientifically valuable courses on major European literatures, and he also publishes several translations of works of Spanish literature. Longfellow University will work until 1854, in parallel with teaching, he is engaged in literary creativity.

Vocation

Craving for literature Henry Longfellow experienced as a teenager. His first experiments were poetic, but later he tried himself in prose. In his youth, he wrote many poems, but these were only student experiences. During his student years, Henry often sent his poems to magazines and newspapers and even published. In total, during this time he printed about 40 small poems. Longfellow set out his impressions of the trip to Europe in prose, it was a kind of travel diary called "Pilgrimage Overseas." This work was published in 1835. But still, Longfellow was a natural poet, so from the late 1830s he began to write exclusively poetry.

Creativity

The first fame came to the poet after the publication of the poem "Psalm of Life", a sample of naive lyrics. Since the end of the 30s, he has been systematically publishing collections of lyrics, which ensured the author's steady lifetime fame. Henry Longfellow, whose poems can be divided into three large groups, went from an imitator and romantic to a mature author with a bright civil position.

Part of the poet's works are translations and imitations of European authors. He translated Dante's Divine Comedy into English, and it's a real masterpiece. This group includes many Longfellow ballads on traditional European subjects.

The second group of works by Henry Longfellow –it is a philosophical lyric with a slight touch of didacticism. It includes, for example, the works "Migratory Birds", "Voices of the Night", "Iris" and others.

The third group of the poet's texts are his experiments in creating a national epic, these include the famous "Song of Hiawatha" and "Evangeline". Longfellow's works devoted to the promotion of the idea of freedom and the deliverance of slaves from slavery stand apart. In the 1940s, many poets in the United States became involved in the abolition movement, the movement to abolish slavery, but Henry showed himself much less than many of his colleagues in this topic.

In total, during his literary career, Longfellow published 15 collections of poetry, as well as several individual poems and poems. Also in his legacy there are many translations and an excellent anthology of European poetry.

Song of Hiawatha

And yet, for posterity, Henry Longfellow's main achievement is The Song of Hiawatha. This poem was published in 1855, its meter is borrowed from the famous Karelian epic Kalevala. The plot of the work is taken from the legends of the native Indians of America. The poet retells the cosmogonic myths of the natives, seeks to create a national American epic like the Scandinavian Edda. The work is distinguished by its impeccable poetic form and elegance of style. Today, the "Song of Hiawatha" is a classic of US literature.

Private life

The poet Henry Longfellow, whose biography is connected with literature, was successful in his work, but notvery happy in his personal life. He first married his classmate Fanny in 1831. The couple lived together for only 4 years. His wife died during their joint trip to Europe. From this marriage there was 1 child. The second time Henry married in 1843. This marriage was happy, the couple had 5 children. But in 1861, his wife tragically died in a fire. This psychological trauma left Henry out of balance for a long time. In recent years, the poet suffered from rheumatism, but continued to work. He died on March 24, 1882 in Cambridge.