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A review by christopherc
Evangeline and Other Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
4.0
This Dover Thrift Edition makes an economical and convenient introduction to the work of Heendry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), the American poet who sort of provided the antithesis to Walt Whitman by always looking back to the continental European canon in writing verse on American themes. The volume contains his long poem "Evangeline" and is rounded out with 9 shorter poems.
"Evangeline" (1847) is a long poem in dactylic hexameters on the expulsion of the Acadians, the French settlers of Nova Scotia who were forced out by the British in 1755. The poem opens with a depiction of happy life in an Acadian village, around the time that the lovely maiden Evangeline is betrothed to the handsome blacksmith's son Gabriel. Immediately after, the British military comes in, and the couple are separated. Evangeline spends long years searching for Gabriel from Louisiana to Michigan and on to Philadelphia. Besides reminding his contemporary readers of the historical tragedy of the Acadian expulsion, "Evangeline" seems to be Longfellow's tribute to the North American continent and its diversity from the chilly zones of eastern Canada to the feverish bayous of the Cajun land. I enjoyed the plot, and Longfellow is to be praised for successfully creating a long poem in English in dactylic hexameters, as this metre is not at all appropriate for English. I was surprised to see that dactylic hexameter lacks a certain gestalt that other metres have; I love to memorize verse, but little of "Evangeline" could be committed to memory when written in this verse form.
Little of the remaining poems in this volume appeal to me, as I'm not a big fan of typical English rhymed poetry of this period. Nonetheless, "The Cross of Snow", which Longfellow wrote in memory of his second wife, is quite moving. "Divina Commedia", a series of six sonnets the poet wrote while translating Dante, have some interesting metaphors.
"Evangeline" (1847) is a long poem in dactylic hexameters on the expulsion of the Acadians, the French settlers of Nova Scotia who were forced out by the British in 1755. The poem opens with a depiction of happy life in an Acadian village, around the time that the lovely maiden Evangeline is betrothed to the handsome blacksmith's son Gabriel. Immediately after, the British military comes in, and the couple are separated. Evangeline spends long years searching for Gabriel from Louisiana to Michigan and on to Philadelphia. Besides reminding his contemporary readers of the historical tragedy of the Acadian expulsion, "Evangeline" seems to be Longfellow's tribute to the North American continent and its diversity from the chilly zones of eastern Canada to the feverish bayous of the Cajun land. I enjoyed the plot, and Longfellow is to be praised for successfully creating a long poem in English in dactylic hexameters, as this metre is not at all appropriate for English. I was surprised to see that dactylic hexameter lacks a certain gestalt that other metres have; I love to memorize verse, but little of "Evangeline" could be committed to memory when written in this verse form.
Little of the remaining poems in this volume appeal to me, as I'm not a big fan of typical English rhymed poetry of this period. Nonetheless, "The Cross of Snow", which Longfellow wrote in memory of his second wife, is quite moving. "Divina Commedia", a series of six sonnets the poet wrote while translating Dante, have some interesting metaphors.