Customer Reviews

Favorite Poems (Dover Thrift Editions)

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"Working in these walls of time,
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with Ornaments of Rhyme"

These are the lines of the first verse of a powerfully written poem "The Builders" which, to me, seems to be about living a moral, honorable life on which to build a future for all of society. Such powerfull and truthfull words to live by.

On a whim, I recently pulled this book from my bookshelf to read(I have a copy in 'The Classic collectors edition' which I like mostly because it's prety decoration for my bookshelves. As a child I learned "Paul Revere's Ride" in school, but never learned the full depth of Longfellow's works. So refreshing are the realistic moralism of yesteryear, from a time when a persons works and deeds counted for something.

I was captivated by the brutality of "The Saga of king Olaf" as it recounted the brutal nordic kings' religious conquest of Scandanavia. "Hiawatha's Song" swept me up into a tale of beauty of a time lost. The poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is writen with a beauty and elegance and even excitement which conveys thier meaning in stunning clarity. As I read "Paul Revere's Ride" for the first time in over a decade I found myself speaking in the rythm of the hoofbeats of that steed Paul Revere rode.

These historic poems are truly great, and should be read and cherished by all.

This slim paperback book from Dover Thrift Editions is an excellent starting place for those who are not familiar with the poetic works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It's inexpensive, a quick read (at only 84 pages), and contains much of Longfellow's most popular poems, plus some selected prose as well as a few more obscure works. Longfellow (1807-1882) was an absolute master of rhyme, meter, and the the actual SOUND of words, and he wrote with a strong sense of morality and ethics (one reason that he is gererally disregarded by modern poetry snobs, but loved by his faithful readers!). All in all, if you want to explore the poetic mind of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for the first time, you can't go wrong with this book! Check out his masterful choice of words and imagery in poems like "The Christmas Bells", "The Slave's Dream", "Hymn to the Night", "A Psalm of Life", "The Building of the Ship", "The Reaper and the Flowers", "Excelsior", etc., etc., etc. Longfellow enthusiasts looking for a more complete or scholarly volume should check into some of the other Longfellow books offered on Amazon, particularly "The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow", although I found "Complete's" small print, (in columns, like most modern Bibles) to be a bit rough on the eyes....Either way, explore this excellent master of rhyme!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was one of the most noteworthy poets of the 19th century United States. "Favorite Poems" brings together selections from about 40 years' worth of his career. While some of the poems seem very dated -- due to their sentimentality and conventional structure -- the best of these poems remain rewarding and enjoyable.

The focus in this collection is on Longfellow's shorter poems. So his long poems "The Song of Hiawatha" and "Evangeline" are not included, and not even excerpted. But the volume does contain many of his most memorable pieces: "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "The Village Blacksmith," etc.

The longest poem in the collection is "The Courtship of Miles Standish," a mini-epic of more than 30 pages. "Courtship" is a fascinating poem about the colonial era Puritans, and offers a fascinating perspective on gender relations, race, religion, and other aspects of Puritan culture. "Courtship" makes for an interesting companion text for both actual Puritan era writings (like Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative) and later literary works about that era (like Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible").

Another noteworthy poem is "The Slave's Dream," a somewhat romantic, but sympathetic view of an enslaved African-American. Also included is "Paul Revere's Ride," a wonderfully musical poem that, like "The Courtship of Miles Standish," looks back at American history. "Paul Revere's Ride" has a particularly impressive rhyme scheme to complement Longfellow's masterful use of meter. Yes, some of Longfellow's work may not seem very relevant to contemporary audiences. But "Favorite Poems" contains much that remains vital, and deserves a continuing readership both in and out of schools.

I sort of hate to intrude upon our ultra sophisticated world and shake this work in people's faces, but I was setting here reading some of the poems of Longfellow and had an attack of nostalgia and then had a need to write a review on the old book, so here I am. It was published in 1947, and while it is not as old as I am, it is in fact as about beat up as I am and, like me, sort of on its last leg; lots of scars and abuse.

In the school I attended, from first grade through high school, we were all required to memorize poetry and recite it. There were a number of works required each and every year. Some of these pieces were quite long and involved. I do not think that most schools require this any more and I personally feel it is a shame. Poetry was, unlike today, a link with our past and common ground from one generation to the next. I can remember four generations of our family setting at the table and while eating, talking of this and that. If the name Hiawatha or Evangeline or King Olaf came up, everyone at the table knew who or what was being referred to. We all had that common bond and as a matter of fact, most at that table, from the youngest to the oldest, could recite many of the poems mentioned. In school I was sort of an expert on Longfellow as I would always try to pick one of his works to memorize and recite. I could remember them easier than some of the other poets for some reason and was the type of kid who spent more time trying to get out of work than actually working.

This volume includes 49 of Longfellow's poems, including some of my favorites; the Wreck of the Hesperus, Footsteps of Angels, The Song of Hiawatha, The Children's Hour, Paul Revere's Ride, The Falcon of Ser Federigo, The Saga of King Olaf and My Lost Youth. (While included, I was never overly fond of The Courtship of Miles Standish, but hey, that is purely personal taste).

I keep a complete printed copy of The Song of Hiawatha in my "school bag" which I take each day when I substitute teach at the local schools. I use this poem as a "cooler." By that I mean, when I have a class that is difficult to control, from first grade through high school, I have the kids set silently and I read this poem to them. I have a good reading voice, deep and melodic (pats self on back), and can read this one well. At first there will be the rolling of eyes and then complete silence. I can read for at least an hour and this poem has an almost hypnotic effect on the kids. They don't sleep, I won't let them, but they do quite down and remain silent and calm throughout the entire reading. I will let them get to college, like I did, before someone tells them what an overly idealistic poem this is. I am not in this world to pop bubbles.

Anyway, this is a great collection. If you have not read Longfellow for years and years, shame on you. Go to the library and find a collection of his work. If you have not read him yet, do the same thing as you are missing out on a treat!

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

"Tell me not in mournful numbers/ Life is but an empty dream.......Life is real/ Life is earnest/ and the Grave is not the goal/ Dust thou art, To Dust returnest/ Was not spoken of the soul."
This is from Longfellow's " Psalm to life" and has the kind of affirmative, willful strength that much English Victorian poetry( Henley's Invictus, Tennyson's 'Ulysses' ' Browning's "Rabbi Ibn Ben Ezra" )
Longfellow was the most highly esteemed poet of the nineteenth century . His long- poems were taught in American schools well into the middle of the twentieth century as American classics.I can remember going through 'Evangeline' and 'Hiawatha' and 'The Courtship of Miles Standish'( which is in this volume) in seventh and eighth grade.
Longellow's reputation declined drastically perhaps because of his quite conventional language, and style.
There is a solidity, and sobriety in his verse which did not win twentieth - century favor.
However I find many of his poems have insightful and telling. I think too he should be valued as one writes in a positive and dignified way about the country and culture of which he is a part.

As an old Massachusetts man and a enthusiast of Mass. history, of course I am interested in Emerson, Holmes, Thoreau, Longfellow and company. Though, at first glance, Longfellow may seem a bit superficial and out-dated-in a stale New England way; he is actually quite heart-felt and poignant at times.

As for the New England way, that is all part of the charm-New England is like the "grandmother's attic" of America: full of quaint history.

Also see the "Song of Hiawatha", Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes.

It goes like this. "I am monarch of all i survey. My rights there is none to dispute, from the center all around to the sea i am lord of the Foul and Apes". I really want this poem can someone tell me where I can get it.