She named this second son among her eight children for her brother, Henry Wadsworth, who had died in Tripoli harbor in 1804.
His mother, Zilpah (Wadsworth) Longfellow, was the daughter of General Peleg Wadsworth, who had served in the American Revolution. His father, Stephen Longfellow, was an attorney and a Harvard graduate active in public affairs. Even if time has proved him something less than the master poet he never claimed to be, Longfellow made pioneering contributions to American literary life by exemplifying the possibility of a successful authorial career, by linking American poetry to European traditions beyond England, and by developing a surprisingly wide readership for Romantic poetry.īorn on February 27, 1807, in Portland (while Maine was still a part of Massachusetts), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow grew up in the thriving coastal city he remembered in “ My Lost Youth” (1856) for its wharves and woodlands, the ships and sailors from distant lands who sparked his boyish imagination, and the historical associations of its old fort and an 1813 offshore naval battle between American and British brigs. His celebrity in his own time, however, has yielded to changing literary tastes and to reactions against the genteel tradition of authorship he represented. Longfellow’s achievements in fictional and nonfictional prose, in a striking variety of poetic forms and modes, and in translation from many European languages resulted in a remarkably productive and influential literary career. Poems such as “ Paul Revere’s Ride,” Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie (1847), and “ A Psalm of Life” were mainstays of primary and secondary school curricula, long remembered by generations of readers who studied them as children. He achieved a level of national and international prominence previously unequaled in the literary history of the United States and is one of the few American writers honored in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey-in fact, he is believed to be the first as his bust was installed there in 1884. They swept again from their deep ocean bed,Īs youth, and beautiful as youth, upbore me.Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the most widely known and best-loved American poets of the 19th century. Have ebbed from me forever! Suddenly o'er me Love, laughter, and the exultant joy of song The insurgent waters with tumultuous roar.Īll thought and feeling and desire, I said, The ocean breathe and its great breast expand,Īnd hurrying came on the defenceless land Then heard I, more distinctly than before, The sea-weed and the shells upon the sand,Īnd the brown rocks left bare on every hand,Īs if the ebbing tide would flow no more. If Team B does not guess correctly, the game will continue on, back and forth.Įxample: A: “I know a word that rhymes with start” B: “Is it delicious? A: “No, it is not a tart.” B: “Is it part of the body?” A: “Yes, it is a heart!” Team B can attempt to guess the word by describing its meaning (you can also try a charades version called ‘Dumb Crambo’ where you attempt to act out the meaning) (tip: try to choose a secret word that has a lot of rhyming words!) Once Team A has decided on a word, they will tell Team B a word that rhymes with it.
If a player cannot think of a word immediately, or uses the wrong letter, they will leave the game. For example, the second round might look like: A: “I have a basket” B: “What is in it?” A: “Berries” Repeat this process, but each time you name the object, do it in alphabetical order. Partner C (or A, if you only have 2 players!) will then name what is in the basket, choosing an object that begins with the letter A. Partner A will begin by saying “I have a basket”
Spoken word games would have been popular activities for 19th century parties and gatherings, and could have been regular entertainment for the children. Longfellow House is full of words, from poetry, to novels, to letters. Try using different voices or subtle expressions to make your partner laugh first! Partner A says “Ha’, Partner B responds with “Ho” and so on. If you laugh or even smile, you lose! Keep playing until there is only one winner remaining. Try to maintain a serious expression, and test these versions…Įach turn will add a new “Ha”, so Partner B will respond with “Ha ha”, followed by “ha ha ha”, and so on.
The goal of this game is to maintain a serious composure and make your partner laugh! There were many versions of this game, where certain words or phrases are spoken back and forth until one person breaks into laughter.
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