The article explores Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's enduring literary importance by analyzing early works such as "The Battle of Lovell's Pond" and "Santa Filomena." These poems reflect Longfellow's core beliefs in sacrifice and honor, particularly in commemorating figures like Florence Nightingale, who symbolizes Heroic womanhood. Longfellow’s accessible style captured the hearts of readers, making his poetry ubiquitous in households, and he became a celebrated professor at Harvard. His work continues to reinforce civic values, positioning him as a cornerstone of the American literary legacy.
"The poems of Longfellow were in all households that made the smallest pretense to literary cultivation ... It was poetry of the heart in its peaceful, not in its martial, moods, and it met those moods not lackadaisically, but hopefully, cheerily, bravely."
"Santa Filomena commemorates Florence Nightingale, whose service as a nurse during the Crimean War helped set standards of sanitation and patient care in the profession."
Collection
[
|
...
]