The Verbose Insomniacs
Fireside Poets Unit
The "Fireside Poets" got their nickname because families used to read their poems at night when gathering around the fireplace.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Background: Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) grew up near Cambridge, MA, where his father was a Congregationalist minister. He was a descendant of Anne Bradstreet. He graduated from Harvard University in 1836 and practiced medicine for the next 10 years. He also taught at Dartmouth College and became dean at Harvard Medical School, but is best known as a poet and humorist. Holmes wrote the poem "Old Ironsides" and the "Breakfast- Table" essay series. He was the father of American Civil War veteran and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Holmes died on October 7, 1894.
"Old Ironsides"
Background: The battleship Constitution earned its nickname "Old Ironsides" because it withstood British attacks during the War of 1812. Holmes wrote this poem in protest when the ship was slated for demolition.
Literary Devices/ Analysis: Click on the box for a literary analysis of "Old Ironsides."
Effect: "Old Ironsides" became a very popular poem and people rallied behind the effort to save the ship. Children even read the poem in schoolrooms and collected funds to save it. In the end, the verse saved the ship, which still stands as a symbol of American perserverance and patriotism.
Big Idea: Don't interfere with nature. (Greedy men wanted to prematurely decommission the ship; however nature wanted to let it function longer.)
"Thanatopsis"
Background: William Cullen Bryant (November 1794 - June 1878) was an American poet and journalist. William was born in a log cabin in MA that to this day features a plaque in his honor. From a young age, William was infatuated with poetry. Under the tutelage of his father he emulated the styles of classic British poetry. Then while pursuing a career in law his passion for poetry is temporarily muted, but returns after he encounters the English pre-romantics that inspired among other poems "Thanatopsis."
William Cullen Bryant
Background: The name "Thanatopsis" comes from the Greek Thanatos (death) and opsis (sight). It is often translated to meditation on death or a vision of death. Bryant drew inspiration from the likes of the British Thomas Gray, Robert Blair and William Wordsworth.
Literary Devices/ Analysis: Click on the box for a literary analysis of "Thanatopsis."
Effect: "Thanatopsis" started a new era of American poetry that featured blank verse and the unique rugged American Spirit. His poem also marked a transition to romantic poetry that Americans started to appreciate. Written before American pride, the poem focuses on other pressing issues to the average citizen by including topics like death, morality, and the transitive nature of life.
Big Idea: Death is just a return to nature. ("Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again," Just as one has lived off of the Earth, the Earth will inturn live off of you)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Background: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was educated at the Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. At age 27, he was appointed professor at Harvard, and once again made a visit to Europe, where his wife died. In 1843 he married Frances Appleton and had six children. In 1855, he published "The Song of Hiawatha", followed by the The Courtship of Miles Standish (1858, 51). During his final tour of Europe in 1868/9 (61/2), he was awarded honorary degrees at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He continued writing verse right up to his death, when his popularity was at its height.
"The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls"
Background: "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" is Longfellow's views on death and the cycle of nature. It was written in 1876. In his life, Longfellow had dealt with the deaths of many close people. Now nearing the end of his life, Longfellow analyzed death.
Literary Devices/ Analysis: Click on the box for a literary analysis of "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls."
Effect: "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" set an example for many poems with its style. The use of the differnet literary devices greatly helps convey its message. Overall, the poem makes a person evaluate the quality and importance of their life. Hopefully, this usually is for the better of that person. However, the poem brings a sense of reality to human nature. It reminds people that we are just a smaller part of nature.
Big Idea: Nature’s cycles are unending. The seasons change; time passes, and the tide rises and falls. A person’s lifetime is finite. There is only one journey. So, in this poem Longfellow encouraged Americans to try and life their live like nature, forgetting about the past and seizing each day- because life moves on, just like nature does.
"The Song of Hiawatha"
Background: "The Song of Hiawatha" is a narrative poem based on a legend of the Ojibway, Native American people who lived in the Great Lakes region. It is in the perspective of Hiawatha, a man in the Indian tribe, Iroquois, who joined with the Great Peacemaker, or Dekanawidah, to unite the Iroquois people.
Literary Devices/ Analysis: Click on the box for a literary analysis of "The Song of Hiawatha."
Effect: "The Song of Hiawatha" introduced the white audience to Indian mythology. This epic poem, written in trochaic tetrameter, emphasized what Longfellow wanted his audience to do; he wanted them to observe. This poem was able to convey his message clearly. Nature is the key to our doors; all of life's stories come from nature.
Big Idea: Nature is the key to all our doors. All of life's stories originate from nature; when we look to nature, it's as if we're looking in the mirror. Nature is an important factor of everyone's lives.