The Song of Hiawatha

The Song of Hiawatha is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The work draws extensively on the oral traditions and mythology of Ojibwe and other Indigenous peoples, as compiled by ethnographers like Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. It narrates the life and adventures of the legendary Hiawatha, his love for Minnehaha, and his efforts to bring peace and prosperity to his people. The poem achieved immense popularity, becoming a landmark work in American literature and shaping popular perceptions of Native American culture in the 19th century.

Composition and publication

Longfellow began composing the poem in June 1854, completing it in March 1855 after extensive research into Native American folklore. His primary source was the multi-volume work of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, a renowned ethnologist and Indian agent who had married Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, a woman of Ojibwe and Scottish descent. Longfellow also consulted works like John Heckewelder's accounts of the Lenape and the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, which influenced the poem's distinctive meter. The poem was first published in November 1855 by the Boston firm Ticknor and Fields, featuring illustrations by the artist Felix O. C. Darley. It was an immediate commercial success, selling tens of thousands of copies and going through numerous reprints, solidifying Longfellow's status as a preeminent literary figure in the United States.

Synopsis

The poem is divided into 22 cantos, chronicling the life of the hero Hiawatha from his supernatural birth to his departure for the afterlife. It begins with a peace-making mission from the Great Spirit, Gitche Manito, and the prophecy of Hiawatha's coming. Key episodes include Hiawatha's childhood, his training by his grandmother Nokomis, and his battles with his father, the West Wind Mudjekeewis. Central to the narrative is his courtship and marriage to the Dakota woman Minnehaha, their life together in his village, and her subsequent death during a famine. Hiawatha introduces agriculture, picture writing, and other civilizing arts to his people, the Ojibwe. The poem concludes with the arrival of European missionaries, symbolized by the "Black-Robe" Jesuit priests, after which Hiawatha departs in his canoe for the sunset, urging his people to welcome the newcomers.

Characters

The poem features a cast of characters drawn from Algonquian mythology and Longfellow's own synthesis. The protagonist, Hiawatha, is a figure of wisdom and cultural heroism. His beloved, Minnehaha, whose name means "laughing water," is a woman from the rival Dakota tribe. Hiawatha's grandmother, Nokomis, who fell from the moon, raises him and imparts traditional knowledge. His father is the powerful Mudjekeewis, the West Wind. Other significant figures include the boastful warrior Pearl-Feather, the mischievous trickster Iagoo, the skilled musician Chibiabos, and the strong but silent Kwasind. Antagonists include the evil sorcerer Megissogwon and the fiery Pau-Puk-Keewis. The spiritual realm is represented by Gitche Manito, the Great Spirit, and the gentle Pau-Puk-Keewis.

Literary style and influences

The poem's most defining technical feature is its use of unrhymed trochaic tetrameter, a rhythmic pattern Longfellow adapted from the Finnish Kalevala. This meter, with its repetitive, chant-like quality, was intended to evoke the oral tradition of Indigenous storytelling. Longfellow freely blended and adapted legends from various Algonquian nations, particularly the Ojibwe, as recorded by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. While the poem employs epic conventions, its focus on domestic life, romance, and cultural origins distinguished it from classical European models like the Iliad. The work is also notable for its onomatopoeia, repetitive phrasing, and vivid depictions of the North American natural world, from the shores of Gitche Gumee (Lake Superior) to the great forests.

Critical reception and legacy

Upon publication, The Song of Hiawatha received widespread popular acclaim but mixed reviews from critics, some of whom mocked its repetitive meter as the "Hiawatha meter." It was parodied almost immediately, most famously in a 1856 comic poem by William Makepeace Thackeray. Despite this, it became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring musical compositions like Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony and an 1859 cantata by Robert Stoepel. Its imagery influenced the Arts and Crafts movement and the development of summer camp traditions. However, its legacy is complex; while it introduced many Americans to Native American themes, it also perpetuated the stereotype of the "vanishing Indian." The poem's settings, such as Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, became famous landmarks. It remains a significant, if contested, work in the canon of American literature. Category:1855 poems Category:American epic poems Category:Poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow