Favorite Poems

The book came quickly and as described

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.

"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.

"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.

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.