Reading Longfellow

Assignment Date: Tue, Nov 13, 2007

We will use Longfellow as representative of the literary period from the American Revolution to the transcendentalists (circa 1840).

Read “A Psalm of Life” and discuss it in terms of (a) traditional form (b) religious orthodoxy and (c) patriotic mythmaking.

We will use these 15 poems. This is a printer-friendly copy of the poem.

To read the poems with notes online, you can also go here for a list of links to individual poems.

For tomorrow: read the Longfellow poems on line, select one you will teach to the rest of the class. Copy and print that one poem and bring it with you to class tomorrow.