"Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie" is written in dactylic hexameter, the style of classical European epics such as Homer's "Iliad."

Longfellow was familiar with the style as well as European languages, literature, and poetry. He would later publish (in 1867) the first English translation of Dante Alighieri's "Inferno" (Italian, 1314) in blank verse.

Longfellow's contributions to American poetry and literature included the development and introduction of mythopoetic figures into the cultural consciousness, and thus the creation of new American mythology.

Illustration from 'The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with numerous illustrations.' Boston : Houghton, Mifflin and Company; James R. Osgood and Company, 1880. p. 152. This appears with the Longfellow poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish."

Longfellow's epic poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish" (1855) followed "Evangeline" as a work based on New England history. Priscilla Mullins and John Alden, Mayflower pilgrims featured in the poem, were maternal ancestors of Longfellow's.

What mythopoetic roles have Mayflower pilgrims played in the American public consciousness over time? How much of the literary interpretation of them is true?

The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with numerous illustrations

 ( Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company; James R. Osgood and Company, 1880, p. 148).

One of Longfellow's best-known epic poems is "The Tale of Hiawatha" (1858). "Hiawatha" is not based on Wabanaki oral tradition, but Longfellow wrote about Indigenous subjects with some frequency. While "Hiawatha" is a Romantic poem for a primarily white Anglo-American audience, the story brought an Indigenous hero into the Victorian public consciousness.

What is the significance of an Indigenous hero in an epic poem written for a white American public?

The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with numerous illustrations.

 It was published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company; James R. Osgood and Company, 1880. p.194.

Longfellow's poems collected in "Tales of a Wayside Inn" were written between 1853-1863. This image comes from "The Saga of King Olaf," which draws its subject matter from the Eddas of Norse mythology.

What was the significance of writing a Norse epic hero into a collection of poetry for a 19th-century American audience?

An illustration of the poem "Paul Revere's Ride" from 'The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with numerous illustrations.' Boston : Houghton, Mifflin and Company; James R. Osgood and Company, 1880. p. 183-184. The poem is from "Tales of a Wayside Inn."

Longfellow's poem about Paul Revere remains one of the most influential references many American students have to the Revolutionary War veteran and silversmith. The poem solidified his status as a mythopoetic American hero, and Revere is arguably more widely known for his actions as the subject in Longfellow's poem than for his trade or other events of his life.

What were writers like Longfellow trying to achieve by introducing figures from American history into the American literary canon?

Does it matter that the mythopoetic version of Paul Revere is the one that is more enduring? Why or why not?

J. P. Davis & Speer illustration from 'The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow with numerous illustrations.' Boston : Houghton, Mifflin and Company; James R. Osgood and Company, 1880. p. 86. This appears with the Longfellow poem "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie."

The epic poem that launched Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's career was "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie." Like the other epic poems he would write in his life, "Evangeline" makes Romantic heroes of figures based on American history.

What can you infer about the story of "Evangeline" from this image? What is happening in the illustration? What do you notice in the foreground and background?

Standards for Why Epic Poetry?