Of all American authors, Longfellow was the model Christian; noted for his superabundant sympathy, love, and charity. It is recorded that when Poe lashed him with his merciless criticism, he was delivering enthusiastic discourses on Poe's poetry to his classes. THE MAN 1. What was Longfellow's origin; his education? 2. In what respect does his life resemble that of Irving? 3. His profession was literature. What chair did he occupy, and in what colleges? 4. What interest, if any, did Longfellow take in public affairs? 5. Give the salient points in his character. 6. Was his foreign experience as significant as that of Irving, Hawthorne, and Lowell? STYLE AND WORKS 1. With what collection of poems did Longfellow first win public notice? 2. What work links his name with those of Whittier and Harriet Beecher Stowe? 3. Name his best poems. 4. In which is the dactylic hexameter popularized? 5. From what two sources was his "Hiawatha" derived? 6. How is Longfellow's name connected with that of Dante? 7. What are the merits of his style; the defects? 8. Longfellow is easily the most popular American poet. Why? 9. What British poet does he most resemble in his shorter poems? In what respects? 10. What can you say as to his popularity abroad? FROM "EVANGELINE" 1. Who were the Druids, and why are they appropriately associated with the "forest primeval"? 2. What is the present name of the territory once called Acadie? 3. What lines express the central thought underlying the tale? 4. What is there peculiarly appropriate in the words "turbulent tides"? (See geography on Bay of Fundy, etc.) 5. Select a few of the most beautiful similes or metaphors which illustrate the poet's power of imagination. 6. Is the cruelty of the English exaggerated? 7. During what period of history did this event occur? 8. What picture of Acadian life pleases you most? 9. Compare this narrative style with that of the narrative poems of Scott, Tennyson, Macaulay, and Homer. FOR REFERENCE "Life of Longfellow."--LONGFELLOW (SAMUEL). "Henry W. Longfellow, Life, Works, Friendships."--AUSTIN. "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow."--CARPENTER. "Four American Poets."--CODY. "Longfellow's Country."--CLARKE. "Authors and Friends."--FIELDS. "Old Cambridge."--HIGGINSON. "Longfellow."--NORTON. JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER (1807-1892) Whittier was born at Haverhill, Mass., the son of a poor Quaker farmer. His boyhood was spent at work on his father's farm and he had few opportunities for schooling. But he showed his talent for verse at an early age, and in this manner attracted the interest and friendship of William Lloyd Garrison. Determined to obtain an education, he learned the trade of making slippers, and with this as a means of support was able to attend two years at Haverhill Academy.