fireside poets longfellow, whittier, holmes, lowell, bryant
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Fireside PoetsFireside Poets
Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Bryant
Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Bryant
Fireside Poets
Called “Fireside Poets” because families used to read and discuss their poetry around the fire
Similar to the way families sometimes watch TV together
Fireside Poets
These poets preferred conventional forms of poetryNo experimentation with
spelling or punctuation
Fireside Poets
Their regular rhyme scheme and meter (rhythm) made them fun to read and easy to remember - catchy
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
“Psalm of Life”
“Paul Revere’s Ride”
Longfellow
Born in MaineHis poetry has been
translated into 24 languages
Longfellow
Attended Bowdoin CollegeClassmate was Nathaniel
Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter)
1825: Graduated 3rd in class
Longfellow
At 18, hired to teach “Modern Languages” at Bowdoin College
Hired under the condition that he travel Europe to study foreign languages
Also, he had to write his own textbooks
Longfellow
While in Spain, met and spent time with Washington Irving
Longfellow
1836: Hired as professor of “Modern Languages” at Harvard
Also asked to spend time in Europe for language training
Longfellow
Married twice: both wives died Mary: Died of complications during
a miscarriageWrote “Footsteps of Angels” about her
Frances: Died in a house fireHenry also injured
Face was burned, could no longer shave
Longfellow
Despite tragedies of his wives’ deaths, poems became sentimental and optimistic
1839: Voices of the Night published1st collection of poems
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
“Barbara Frietchie”
“The Slave Ships”
Whittier
Born in MassachusettsSon of devout QuakersGrew up on a farm
Very little formal schooling
Whittier
1826 (19 years old): 1st published poem - “The Exile’s Departure”
Whittier
1827-1828: Attended Haverhill AcademyEarned his living as a
shoemaker and schoolteacher
Whittier
Followed Quaker faithVery devoted to social
causes and reformWorked for and edited
abolitionist newspapers and magazines
His = New England Weekly Review
Whittier
1831: Delegate in Republican Convention in support of Senator Henry Clay
Whittier
1831- 1860s: Wrote essays, poems, and prose mostly about abolition of slavery
Whittier
1832: Ran for CongressWas not elected
Whittier
1834: Elected into MA State Legislature for Whig Party Whig Party was formed to oppose
Andrew Jackson and his Democrats They believed Congress should
have more power than Executive Branch
“Whig” had been the nickname for the colonial patriots of the Am. Rev.
Whittier
1835: Mobbed and stoned (not like that) in New Hampshire because of a speech about abolition
Whittier
1838: Office of his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Freeman, was burned to the ground by a pro-slavery mob
Whittier
Founding member of the Liberty PartyDevoted to freeing slaves
Whittier
1850s: Worked for the formation of the Republican Party
1859: Engaged to Elizabeth Lloyd HowellHe called off the wedding
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)
“Old Ironsides”
“The Chambered Nautilus”
Holmes
Born in MassachusettsFather was a Calvinist
clergyman (Focuses on Grace of God,
Predestination)
Holmes
1829: Graduated from Harvard
1836: Earned Medical degree from Harvard
Holmes
Began professional life in medical field
Switched to Academic field
Holmes
1838-1840: Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Dartmouth College
1847-1853: Dean of Harvard Medical School
1847-1882: Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Harvard
Holmes
Published 2 important Harvard lectures“On the Nature of Fevers”“Homeopathy and its Kindred
Delusions” (against Homeopathy)Treatment of disease by
injecting a small amount of the disease
Holmes
“Old Ironsides” - 1st important poemWritten in protest of the
destruction of the USS Constitution (War of 1812)
Wrote important biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson
James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)
“War”“My Love”
Lowell
Born in MassachusettsFather was a Unitarian
minister
Lowell
1834: Began at Harvard (15 years old)
1838: Graduated from Harvard
1840: Earned Harvard Law degree
Lowell
1843: Started a literary magazine
The Pioneer failed after 2 issues
Lowell
1844: Married Maria WhiteShe was a strong abolitionist
Lowell
1848: The Bigelow PapersOne of his best known worksCollections of essays, stories,
poetry1st series: Opposed
Mexican-American War2nd series: Supported the
North in the Civil War
Lowell
1855-1876: Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard (after Longfellow)
Lowell
1877: Appointed as Foreign Minister to LondonWhile in England, he worked
to promote the respect of American literature
William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
“Thanatopsis”
Bryant
Born in MassachusettsSon of a highly respected
physician who loved natureEncouraged his son to explore
nature
Bryant
1804: (10 years old), he translated other poems from Latin to English
Got these published in newspapers
Bryant
1812: Left Williams College to pursue Law degree
1815: Admitted to the BarPracticed law for 10 years
to earn money
Bryant
1813: His grandfather & his friend’s fiancée died
Same year, at 19, wrote “Thanatopsis”Said he composed it while
wandering through the woods“Thanatos” = death“Opsis” = vision
Bryant
1829: Moved to New York City
Became Editor-in-Chief of Evening Post
Bryant
Outspoken supporter of women’s rights
Outspoken opponent of slavery
Bryant
Helped bring about the American version of the Romantic MovementDeath and nature were 2 of
the favorite topics of Romantics