Blog #7 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in 1807 in Maine. He was the second son out of eight children. As he grew up he loved to read and listening to foreign languages fascinated him. After graduating from college, he continued to study modern languages for three more years. He then became a language teacher. In 1831 he married his first wife and also published his first book. But only four years later, his wife died during a miscarriage. He grieved for a long time but continued to write inspiring poems. He eventually married again; he and his wife, Frances, had six children. In 1854 he quit teaching to completely focus on writing poetry. Sadly, only eighteen years after they had been married, Frances died after her dress caught fire from envelope-sealing wax. Longfellow didn't write anything for two more years, but finally started up again in 1863. He continued to publish books and poems, and was a very popular and celebrated poet by people all across the country. He died on March 24, 1882 at the age of seventy-five.
Walt Whitman was born in 1819 into a New York-based family of nine children. He loved reading, and when he was only twelve he learned to be a printer. After a fire destroyed the printing industry, he became a teacher. He only taught for five years; however, and in 1841 he became a journalist full-time. He founded two different newspapers and wrote unique poetry. Even Ralph Waldo Emerson was a fan. As the Civil War started and got worse, Whitman continued to write but also visited the wounded soldiers in hospitals. He moved to Washington, D.C. to care for his brother and other patients there. During most of his life he didn't have much money. Other writers sometimes sent him money, and he lived with his brother until his latest published work would give him enough money for a house. He moved into a simple house and kept writing during his final years of life. He died on March 26, 1892.
Both Whitman and Longfellow were popular poets around the same span of time. Longfellow wrote not only poems, but also books and essays. He also translated Dante's Divine Comedy. Whitman wrote mostly poems, but also spent much of his time writing for newspapers. People like Lincoln and Dickens admired Longfellow for his inspirational work during a struggling time. Emerson and many others liked Whitman's work. Whitman even said that Longfellow had done more for America than any other man.
Although they were alive and writing around the same time, Whitman and Longfellow were pretty different. They both were teachers and came from large families; however, that was about as much as they had in common. While Longfellow married twice, Whitman never did. Instead Whitman devoted his life to journalism and poetry. Longfellow wrote about inspiring things, but Whitman's poems were more like stories. But even though they were different, they both provided entertainment and maybe a little bit of hope during one of our country's most trying times.