7. In which was Bryant more deeply versed, nature or man? 8. What other poets does his work suggest? "THANATOPSIS" 1. What is the connection between the title of the poem and its subject-matter? 2. How does communion with nature affect the thought of death? 3. Is the description of death effective? 4. What consolation is derived from the manner of our burial? 5. Does Bryant consider preparation for death essential? 6. Are there indications of youthfulness in the poem? 7. Do any passages suggest Bryant's early home? FOR REFERENCE "Atlas Essays."--PALMER. "William Cullen Bryant" ("American Authors").--HILL. "Throne Makers."--THAYER. "Bryant and His Friends."--WILSON. "Studies in Bryant" ("Literature Primers").--ALDEN. HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW (1807-1882) Longfellow was born at Portland, Maine, a lineal descendant of "Priscilla, the Puritan Maiden." He was educated at Bowdoin College, in which he was subsequently offered a professorship. To prepare himself for the position he traveled extensively in Europe, acquainting himself with its languages and institutions. After some years at Bowdoin he was appointed to the chair of modern languages and literature at Harvard. He now settled down at Cambridge, which remained his home till the day of his death, though he made several trips to Europe. After several ineffectual essays at authorship, he won recognition with his "Voices of the Night." Some years later appeared a second collection of poems, "Poems of Slavery," which, with Whittier's poems and Mrs. Stowe's works, were largely instrumental in stirring up New England to the evils of slave-holding. Finally, in 1847, appeared the greatest of all his works, "Evangeline." It is also remarkable as introducing the dactylic hexameter of the ancients, ever since popular in America. In his choice of subjects Longfellow oscillated between America and Europe, and, although he doubtless was not conscious of the fact, his American poems were easily best; especially "Hiawatha" (based on a Finnish epic, the "Kalevala"), "The Courtship of Miles Standish," and the "Tales of a Wayside Inn,"--all three of which may vie with "Evangeline" for excellence. He was less successful with his European poems, though "The Golden Legend," and his translation of the "Divine Comedy" are good. Longfellow made several attempts at writing prose fiction, notably in "Hyperion" and "Kavanaugh," but none of his prose works proved to be of any permanent value. Longfellow was neither original nor deep. He attempts to discover no new secrets in nature. But, like Scott, he was a lover of the heroic, of the spirit of self-sacrifice. His poems, whatever their form, are ever subjective, have ever a moral to teach. And so, like Scott, he has ever been and ever will be popular. In England and Canada he is said to be even more popular than Tennyson.