Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: The Great Honored and Criticized Poet
895 Words4 Pages
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a successful pet in his lifetime. In his childhood, he was so intelligent that he entered Bowdoin College at the age of fifteen. He worked at Bowdoin College and Harvard College for 19 years due to his eyesight. In addition, his work sold million copies. At his later time, his birthday became a national holiday, and he was the first man who was honored by Britain society. Despite these glories, he suffered from the death of his two wives, Mary Storer Potter and Frances Appleton, and as time goes by, his works are criticized so much.
Longfellow was born on February 27 1807 in Portland, Maine as the second of eight children. His parents’ names are Stephen Longfellow, and Zilpah. Zilpah’s grandfather, Peleg Wadsworth, was an American general in American Revolutionary War. He was a very studious and astute student. He just started his schooling at three with the entrance of a dame school. In his childhood, he influenced a lot from his father’s book collection, storytelling of New England. At fifteen, he passed entrance exam of Bowdoin College. The studious student who found school is traditional and boring participated in Peucinian Society. This group inspired his enthusiasm for literacy. Between 1824 and 1825, he graduated from Bowdoin College.
After his graduation, he decided to travel all around Europe. During his three years travel, he improved his language skills without formal education. At Spain, he met his model, Washington Irving who impresses him by his work ethic. At the same time, the death of his favorite sister, Elizabeth, saddened him. Recalling his memory at Europe tour, he published Outre-Mer; A Pilgrimage beyond the Sea (1833, 1834). Yet this time, he did not recognize his brilliant ...
... middle of paper ...
... who was glorified by England and had a record of million copies. However, as the view and private value of readers change, he is now evaluated as minor poet. Also, he had a very sad personal history. To summarize, he was the greatest poet in his time, and the minor poet in these days. However, his poems still touches his authors mind strongly because he reflect his hard life in his poet.
Works Cited
The European graduate school 1997. European Graduate School EGs October 3. 2013 www.egs.edu
‘Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’, Wikipedia 27 September 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow
“Law- Marini.” Funk&Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. Vol16. 1876 ed.
“L” The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol12. 1972 Ed.
Maine Historical Society. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [online resource], Maine Historical Society, Accessed May 30, 2013 http://www. hwlongfellow.org