Who?

1. Who were the Fireside/Schoolhouse poets? What distinguished their work from other American romantics? How did their work reflect romanticism? Who were key figures in this group? What were their major works? Why are they still relevant today?

2. Who? • Group of New England poets • “schoolhouse” poets refers to privileged backgrounds and college education • Wrote poems that were easy to memorize and recite

3. Who were the key figures? • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • William Cullen Bryant • John Greenleaf Whittier • James Russell Lowell • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

4. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Born- Portland, Maine 1807 • Death-1882 • He was a traveler, linguist, and romantic • Created myths from American historical events in his poems • Wrote “The Song of Hiawatha” and “Paul Revere’s Ride.” • Translator and scholar in several languages • In the 1870s school children celebrated his birthday like a national holiday -(“The Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow”)

5. Born- Hampshire County, Massachusetts on November 3, 1794 Died- New York, June 12, 1878 Came from cultured family- ancestors came over in the Mayflower Began writing at 10 At age 13 wrote- “ The Embargo” and “The Spanish Revolution” 1812 wrote “An Ode to the Fourth of July” Age 18 wrote “Thanatopsis” 1834- traveled to France, Italy, and Germany 1849- Traveled to Egypt and Syria His poetry is filled with “religion of the woods.” -(Biography of William Cullen Bryant ) William Cullen Bryant

6. John Greenleaf Whittier • Born- December 17, 1807 in Haverhill, MA • Died- September 7, 1892 • First poem in print- 1826 in the Newburyport Free Press • Abolitionist • Wrote for the Atlantic Monthly • Wrote “Snow-Bound” in 1866 -(Curtis, Howard W.)

7. James Russell Lowell • Born- 1819 • Died-1891 • Abolitionist • Wrote for the Atlantic Monthly • Wrote- “The Vision of Sir Launfal” in 1848 • Often used in school text • One of the key American Arthurian Texts -(L., A. C.)

8. Oliver Wendell Holmes • Born- August 29, 1809 • Died- October 7, 1894 • Graduated from Harvard University and studied law • Then got a degree in medicine form Cambridge in 1836 • Poems are serious, elegant, and in good cheer • Wrote- “The Last Leaf” and “The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table” followed by “The Professor at the Breakfast Table” and “The Poet at the Breakfast Table” • Wrote with mirth • Wrote “Old Ironsides” about a ship that was about to be abandoned • Wrote war lyrics during the Civil War -("Oliver Wendell Holmes." )

9. What distinguished their work from other American romantics?

10. First American poets to rival British poets for popularity • Wrote with rhyme and metrical cadences • Poems easy to memorize and recite • Poems referenced American legends, scenes from American home life, and current politics as the subjects • Recited at school or alongside a fire (“A Brief Guide to the Fireside Poets”)

11. How did their work reflect romanticism?

12. Wrote about nature • Associated being in the country with independence, moral clarity, and purity • Incorporated American legends into poems which was valued in the Romantic Era • Explored the vast, unknown American lands in poems • Proved that American poetry could hold American subjects but still have conventional style • Wanted to prove that they were as intelligent as the British (“American Romanticism”)

13. Major Works • Hiawatha by Longfellow • Evangeline by Longfellow • Snow-Bound by Whittier • Old Iron Sides by Holmes • Vision of Sir Launfal by Lowell • Thanatopsis by Bryant • Paul Revere’s Ride by Longfellow

14. Lasting Impact • Most popular poets of their time • Longfellow was the most known • Honored with bust in West Minster Abbey’s Poet’s Corner • Wrote about abolition of slavery, which brought the issues to the public’s attention • Paved the way for Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman (The Fireside Poets) • Poems are still taught in school today • Thanatopsis, The Vision of Sir Launfal

15. Sources • “American Romanticism.” WiZiQeducation.online. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://www.wiziq.com/‌tutorial/‌235-American-Romanticism>. • “Biography of William Cullen Bryant.” Great Authors of 19th Century Literature. LoveToKnow Corp., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. <http://www.2020site.org/‌literature/‌william_bryant.html>. • “A Brief Guide to the Fireside Poets.” Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://www.poets.org/‌viewmedia.php/‌prmMID/‌5654>. • Curtis, Howard W. “John Greenleaf Whittier a Brief Biography.” Welcome to the Haverhill Library. Haverhill Public Library, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. <http://www.haverhillpl.org/‌Departments/‌special/‌jgwhittier.html>. • “The Fireside Poets: America’s First Literary Stars.” The Fireside Poets. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. <http://www.huffenglish.com/‌powerpoints/‌The%20Fireside%20Poets.ppt.>. • L., A. C. “James Russell Lowell.” James Russell Lowell. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. <http://www.lib.rochester.edu/‌Camelot/‌auth/‌lowell.htm>. • “Oliver Wendell Holmes.” 19th Century Poets. LoveToKnow Corp., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. <http:///www.2020site.org/‌poetry/‌owh.html>. • “The Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Maine Historical Society, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. <http://www.hwlongfellow.org/>.