Longfellow

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow- AMERICA’S BELOVED POET Window on America Center © Dnipropetrovs’k Ukraine 2012 T.Gavryluk, design S.Usenko

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18th 2012.The session at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) was dedicated to the 205th anniversary of the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.The club members watched a slide show about the biography and poetic heritage of Longfellow. The information was illustrated with several You Tube videos:- about the poet’s memorial house;- the recitals of popular poems by native speakers,- a modern rock group performing a song with Longfellow’s lyrics, etc.Special attention was given to a world known poem by Longfellow – the Hiawatha. We have introduced the translation of the poem by a famous Ukrainian translator Olexander Oles. The Club members had the opportunity to compare the original text with the translation and give tribute to the challenging job of the poetry translators.To summarize the outcome of the session we have taken a quiz about the poet’s life and work. The score was quite satisfactory – 15 correct answers out of 20 questions.The topic of Native Americans was further continued by the proposition of an out-of-class activity: the club members were invited to attend a movie theatre and watch a new film “The one who passed through the fire flames”. The movie is about a Ukrainian man who became an Indian tribe chief after the WWII.

Transcript of Longfellow

  • 1. Window on America CenterDnipropetrovskUkraine 2012T.Gavryluk,design S.Usenko

2. was born on 27February 1807, in thecity of Portland, Maine To the lawyer StephenLongfellow and hiswife Zilpah neWadsworth. 3. Earlyon young Henry knew he wanted to be a poet; he was a fast learner and loved to write stories and poems. The Portland Gazette printed his first poem at the age of thirteen. 4. Secondary-thePortland Academy; Tertiary -BowdoinCollege inBrunswick, Maine(1822- 1825) There he was offereda professorship. 5. Thecollege had advised him to further study languages Longfellow immersed himself in the literature of Europe, and in mastering half a dozen languages. 6. Uponarrival back in America he settled at Bowdoin to teach modern languages including French and Italian from 1829- 1835. He also wrote many textbooks for the college. 7. In1831 Longfellow married Mary Storer Potter (1813-1835). On his next trip to Europe, this time with his wife, Mary suddenly died in Rotterdam, after having a miscarriage 8. After arriving home fromthis second trip in 1836,he took on the SmithProfessorship ofModern Languages withHarvard University inCambridge,Massachusetts, aposition he held until1854. 9. On 13 July 1843 Longfellow married Francis Elizabeth "Fanny" Appleton (1817-1861) with whom he had six children. 10. Henry WadsworthLongfellow lived herefrom 1837 to 1775. Thehouse is clapperboardcolonial. The National ParkService restored thegarden to its colonialstyle, emphasizing theformality of the originallayout. 11. While teaching fulltime, Longfellowcontinued hisprodigious output ofpoetry that was warmlyreceived in NorthAmerica and Europe. After resigning fromteaching in1854, Longfellow wasable to put all hisenergies into writing. 12. 1861 Fannys dresssuddenly caught firefrom a candle and shewas engulfed in flames. Henry tried desperatelyto smother the flames,suffering burns to hishands and face, to noavail. Fanny soon succumbedto her wounds. 13. Longfellows griefchanged him forever;his flowing whitebeard covered hisburn marks. 14. In1868Longfellowmade his last tripto Europe. The LongfellowFamily, Venice, 29May 1869. A.Sorgato, photographer. 15. Queen Victoria invited him to tea (1868) Hereceived honorary doctoral degrees from Cambridge and Oxford Universities 16. In 1884 he was the firstcitizen of the UnitedStates to be honored inPoets Corner ofWestminster Abbey inLondon, England. His marble bust nowstands among themonuments to otherworld-renowned authorsand poetsDickens, Kipling, Browning 17. 1855 Song of Hiawatha as a tributeto North AmericanIndians. 18. 1861 translation of Dante AlighierisDivine Comedy.Longfellow was the first American to translate Dante. 19. The Spanish Student. A The Seaside and thePlay in Three Acts (1843), Fireside (poetry, 1850), Poets and Poetry of The Golden LegendEurope (translations,(dramatic poem, 1851),1844), "The Childrens Hour" The Belfry of Bruges and (1859),Other Poems (1845), Evangeline: A Tale of Christus: A MysteryAcadie (epic poem, 1847),(1872), "Aftermath" (1873), Kavanagh: A Tale (1849), The Masque of Pandora and Other Poems (1875). 20. Hecontinued to write up until the year of his death -1882. 21. Thisis the first stamp to honor Longfellow.A one-cent stamp featuring a portrait of the poet, was issued February 16, 1940. 22. Forbicentennial - issuing a commemorative stamp on March 15, 2007.