Fireside Poets Longfellow Whittier Holmes Lowell Bryant

Fireside Poets Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Bryant

Fireside Poets e. Called “Fireside Poets” because families used to read and discuss their poetry around the fire e. Similar to the way families sometimes watch TV together

Fireside Poets e. These poets preferred conventional forms of poetry d. No experimentation with spelling or punctuation

Fireside Poets e. Their regular rhyme scheme and meter (rhythm) made them fun to read and easy to remember - catchy

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 -1882) e“Psalm of Life” e“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Longfellow e. Born in Maine e. His poetry has been translated into 24 languages

Longfellow e. Attended Bowdoin College d. Classmate was Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter) d 1825: Graduated 3 rd in class

Longfellow e. At 18, hired to teach “Modern Languages” at Bowdoin College e. Hired under the condition that he travel Europe to study foreign languages e. Also, he had to write his own textbooks

Longfellow e. While in Spain, met and spent time with Washington Irving

Longfellow e 1836: Hired as professor of “Modern Languages” at Harvard e. Also asked to spend time in Europe for language training

Longfellow e. Married twice: both wives died d. Mary: Died of complications during a miscarriage e. Wrote “Footsteps of Angels” about her d. Frances: Died in a house fire e. Henry also injured d. Face was burned, could no longer shave

Longfellow e. Despite tragedies of his wives’ deaths, poems became sentimental and optimistic e 1839: Voices of the Night published d 1 st collection of poems

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 -1892) e“Barbara Frietchie” e“The Slave Ships”

Whittier e. Born in Massachusetts e. Son of devout Quakers e. Grew up on a farm d. Very little formal schooling

Whittier e 1826 (19 years old): 1 st published poem - “The Exile’s Departure”

Whittier e 1827 -1828: Attended Haverhill Academy d. Earned his living as a shoemaker and schoolteacher

Whittier e. Followed Quaker faith e. Very devoted to social causes and reform d. Worked for and edited abolitionist newspapers and magazines d. His = New England Weekly Review

Whittier e 1831: Delegate in Republican Convention in support of Senator Henry Clay

Whittier e 1831 - 1860 s: Wrote essays, poems, and prose mostly about abolition of slavery

Whittier e 1832: Ran for Congress d. Was not elected

Whittier e 1834: Elected into MA State Legislature for Whig Party d. Whig Party was formed to oppose Andrew Jackson and his Democrats d. They believed Congress should have more power than Executive Branch d“Whig” had been the nickname for the colonial patriots of the Am. Rev.

Whittier e 1835: Mobbed and stoned (not like that) in New Hampshire because of a speech about abolition

Whittier e 1838: Office of his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Freeman, was burned to the ground by a pro-slavery mob

Whittier e. Founding member of the Liberty Party d. Devoted to freeing slaves

Whittier e 1850 s: Worked for the formation of the Republican Party e 1859: Engaged to Elizabeth Lloyd Howell d. He called off the wedding

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 -1894) e“Old Ironsides” e“The Chambered Nautilus”

Holmes e. Born in Massachusetts e. Father was a Calvinist clergyman d(Focuses on Grace of God, Predestination)

Holmes e 1829: Graduated from Harvard e 1836: Earned Medical degree from Harvard

Holmes e. Began professional life in medical field e. Switched to Academic field

Holmes e 1838 -1840: Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Dartmouth College e 1847 -1853: Dean of Harvard Medical School e 1847 -1882: Professor of Anatomy and Physiology at Harvard

Holmes e. Published 2 important Harvard lectures d“On the Nature of Fevers” d“Homeopathy and its Kindred Delusions” (against Homeopathy) e. Treatment of disease by injecting a small amount of the disease

Holmes e“Old Ironsides” - 1 st important poem d. Written in protest of the destruction of the USS Constitution (War of 1812) e. Wrote important biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson

James Russell Lowell (1819 -1891) e“War” e“My Love”

Lowell e. Born in Massachusetts d. Father was a Unitarian minister

Lowell e 1834: Began at Harvard (15 years old) e 1838: Graduated from Harvard e 1840: Earned Harvard Law degree

Lowell e 1843: Started a literary magazine e. The Pioneer failed after 2 issues

Lowell e 1844: Married Maria White d. She was a strong abolitionist

Lowell e 1848: The Bigelow Papers d. One of his best known works d. Collections of essays, stories, poetry e 1 st series: Opposed Mexican. American War e 2 nd series: Supported the North in the Civil War

Lowell e 1855 -1876: Professor of Modern Languages at Harvard (after Longfellow)

Lowell e 1877: Appointed as Foreign Minister to London d. While in England, he worked to promote the respect of American literature

William Cullen Bryant (1794 -1878) e“Thanatopsis”

Bryant e. Born in Massachusetts e. Son of a highly respected physician who loved nature d. Encouraged his son to explore nature

Bryant e 1804: (10 years old), he translated other poems from Latin to English e. Got these published in newspapers

Bryant e 1812: Left Williams College to pursue Law degree e 1815: Admitted to the Bar e. Practiced law for 10 years to earn money

Bryant e 1813: His grandfather & his friend’s fiancée died e. Same year, at 19, wrote “Thanatopsis” d. Said he composed it while wandering through the woods e“Thanatos” = death e“Opsis” = vision

Bryant e 1829: Moved to New York City e. Became Editor-in-Chief of Evening Post

Bryant e. Outspoken supporter of women’s rights e. Outspoken opponent of slavery

Bryant e. Helped bring about the American version of the Romantic Movement d. Death and nature were 2 of the favorite topics of Romantics