Longfellow's Hiawatha

There is a great majesty about unrhymed verse well done.

Among the few epic poems I have read, and amongst all the unrhyming poetry I have read, one epic in particular stands out--and that is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Hiawatha.

On the Mountains of the Prairie,

On the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry...

-The Song of Hiawatha, Part 1: The Peace-Pipe

Thus it begins, in trochaic tetrameter that thrills me through.

As I reviewed the opening lines for this blog post, I could scarcely keep my eyes from reading farther and farther down the page, tracing Longfellow's delightful imagery, my imagination delighted by the rhythm of the words.

If you were here sitting with me now, I would read the opening stanzas aloud to you. As it is, I encourage you to read them aloud yourself. Savor the feel of the words on your tongue. Sense the rhythm of Longfellow's language becoming entrenched in your imagination.

Longfellow paints for us vivid scenes of beauty on the shores of Lake Superior. He evokes for us the calls of the birds and the shine of the stars and the wind and the trees. The lack of rhyme lends a solemnity to the poem, and also draws us ever forward onto the next line--there is no need to pause to appreciate a concluding rhyme.

At the door on summer evenings

Sat the little Hiawatha;

Heard the whispering of the pine-trees,

Heard the lapping of the waters,

Sounds of music, words of wonder...

-The Song of Hiawatha, Part III: Hiawatha's Childhood

As far as the story itself goes, the narrative of Hiawatha is very loosely based on Native American legends. Many details are drawn from Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's writings on indigenous legends, but Schoolcraft himself is a questionable source, and there appears to be much that Longfellow invented himself for his story. The central romance, for example, is not borne of any Native American legend and indeed does not ring true with the way marriages were performed in that culture.

But still the poetry itself is beautiful, the story of itself is noble and heart-stirring, and I highly encourage you to read through yourself (or better, read aloud with a loved one!) Longfellow's Hiawatha.

Ye who love a nation's legends,

Love the ballads of a people,

That like voices from afar off

Call to us to pause and listen,

Speak in tones so plain and childlike,

Scarcely can the ear distinguish

Whether they are sung or spoken;--

Listen to this Indian Legend,

To this Song of Hiawatha!

-The Song of Hiawatha, Introduction

(Photo credit to Charlie Wollberg on Unsplash)