Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is widely considered one of America's greatest writers. One of his signature themes that he used in his writings was patriotism. This theme is expressed in his poems "Wreck of the Hesperus", "The Arsenal at Springfield", and "Paul Revere's Ride". Themes of arrogance, pride, innocence, sacrifice, and optimism influenced his New England readers, who were also influenced by Longfellow's use of images of devastating battles and peaceful utopias. His sense of urgency throughout his works has also motivated many of his readers to take urgent action in their own lives. Longfellow's historical and satirical writing includes a strong sense of patriotism and pride that seeks to affect change. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Longfellow's poem "Wreck of the Hesperus," a ship captain sails his ship into a dangerous storm, endangering his daughter through his hubris and hubris. He deliberately ignores his men's advice to turn around to avoid the oncoming storm. "Please call at that port, for I fear a hurricane. 'Last night, the moon had a golden ring, and tonight we see no moon!' The skipper puffed on his pipe and laughed with a scornful laugh” (Longfellow) Instead of going to the nearest port, the captain's only preparation for disaster is to “cut a rope from a broken spar, And tie his[]. daughter] to the mast” (Longfellow). The captain's arrogance led to the ruin of himself, his daughter, his crew and his ship because he was blinded by his own pride and the emphasis on arrogance in "Wreck of the Hesperus" could have been seen as a warning to his readers not to repeat the arrogant actions of the ship's captain in their lives. The poem was first published in 1842, a time of extreme sectionalism and anger. end led to the secession of the South and the beginning of the Civil War It was certainly a pivotal moment in our nation's history, and Longfellow wanted to be sure that his readers did not give in to the same irritation that divided their neighbors both in the North and in the south of the country. Another way Longfellow tried to influence his audience in "Wreck of the Hesperus" was through the use of themes of pride, innocence, and sacrifice. The captain's pride is what blinds him and causes his arrogance which leads to the wreck of his ship. “Hubris is the term used to describe the pride that characterizes the heroes of Greek tragedy, the kind of pride that blinds people to their limitations and allows them to pit their will against the will or power of supernatural elements, like the gods or fate in Greek Tragedy, or great natural forces” (Constantakis 316). The hurricane that engulfs the Hesperus is an example of such strength, and is an example of powerful imagery that Longfellow often used to further engage his readers in his poems. Innocence is also a very present theme in “Wreck of the Hesperus”, and is represented in the form of the captain's daughter's youthful arrogance towards the dangers of the coming storm and her dependence on her father. The captain betrayed his innocence by sailing straight into the storm without regard for his daughter's safety. Longfellow clearly attempted to manipulate his maternal readers by including him in the poem. The girl's innocence is also implied in Longfellow's images of spring flowers and morning landscapes. The theme of sacrifice is exhibited in the poem when the captain sacrifices his ship, his crew, and his daughter to his ownpride. Later in the poem, when the storm reaches the ship, he sacrifices himself for his daughter by giving her his coat. Even as he hands his coat over to his daughter, he proudly boasts of his ability to save his doomed crew and ship. The location, setting, and optimism of “Wreck of the Hesperus” is another way Longfellow tried to influence change in his readers. In the same way that the narrator is optimistic that God will save us all from the same fate brutally and needlessly suffered by the crew of the Hesperus, Longfellow was optimistic about the fate of his nation. “The concluding [lines] alone should dispel any overemphasis on Longfellow's optimism: Christ save us all from such a death as this, On Norman's Reef of Sorrow” (Johnston 169). These concluding lines also reflect the fact that Longfellow sought to manipulate and influence change in the hearts of his New England audience, for he writes that the wreck crashed "on Norman's Woe reef," a reef only five hundred feet from the coast. of Cape Ann in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The reef had previously been the site of numerous shipwrecks before Longfellow wrote the poem. “And swift through the dark and dreary midnight, through the whistling sleet and snow, like a sheet-wrapped ghost, the ship moved towards the reef of Norman's Woe” (Longfellow). The inclusion of this seemingly small detail in "Wreck of the Hesperus" clearly shows the modern reader that the poem was an attempt by Longfellow to reach into the sailing culture of Massachusetts and New England, and remind his readers of this area of their long, illustrious and often infamous nautical history. Perhaps Longfellow even anticipated the start of the Civil War when he wrote the poem in 1840, and was trying to influence some of his bravest readers to enlist in the Union Navy. This may or may not be true, but even so, there should be no doubt that Longfellow's satirical writings in "Wreck of the Hesperus" were a clear attempt to influence his American audience. Longfellow also tries to affect change in his readers with the dramatic poem “The Springfield Arsenal.” Longfellow expresses his pacifism in this poem by using intense symbols of the destructiveness of war. “If half the power, which fills the world with terror, were half the wealth given to the fields and courts granted to redeem the human mind from error, there would be no need for arsenals or fortresses” (Longfellow 2). Here, Longfellow writes that if only half the money humanity spent on wars and destruction were spent on “camps and courts,” the world would be a much better place and there would be no need for war. He also tries to make the reader agree with him and affect change by including beautiful images of a peaceful society without war - a holy world. “Peace! and no longer from its bronze portals the sound of War's great organ shakes the heavens! But fair as the songs of the immortals, rise the holy melodies of love” (Longfellow 2). This passage could be seen as a appeal to Longfellow's Puritan population of New England in the 1800s. These people sought to purify both the church and the world around them. Puritan readers of "The Arsenal at Springfield" would have sympathized with Longfellow's disapproval of war and. the admiration and desire for a peaceful society. The fact that Longfellow's poem "The Arsenal at Springfield" is set on the site of a Revolutionary War battlefield is also an overt appeal to his New England readers to mid-1800s, whichthey could have been directly affected by the Revolutionary War. Interestingly, however, Longfellow does not write about recent wars. Instead, “he refers to the Great Norsemen of Scandinavia, the Cimbri of Germany, and the Tartars of Asia. All these tribes were known for their warrior culture of invasions and domination” (Saduka). Instead of directly mentioning the effects of the Revolutionary War that might affect his readers, he chose to write about ancient battles when “the Aztec priests on their teocalli beat the wild war drums made of snakeskin” (Longfellow 2). Longfellow must have done this not only to influence the thoughts of his American readers about their own domestic battles, but also about foreign wars that may not have affected them at all. Longfellow's "The Arsenal at Springfield" is an attempt to influence the pacifism of all its readers in general. Another way Longfellow tries to affect change in his readers in his poem "The Arsenal at Springfield" is through the extensive use of metaphors. throughout the poem. He compares weapons and battles to instruments and symphonies. This confrontation is an example of a dramatic metaphor because it involves something that most people would never expect to appear together: music and violence. “The collective weapons sit 'like a huge organ,' waiting to be played. In stanzas two and three, this 'organ' comes into activity, as it is played by the 'angel of death,' and the resulting 'symphonies' are anything but pleasant” (Poquette). Longfellow compares the way military officers stored weapons to the way organ pipes stand against a wall. He later states that guns are instruments that “drown the sweet and gentle voices of nature and shake the heavenly harmonies” (Longfellow 2). When the conflict is resolved, “beautiful as the songs of the immortals, arise the holy melodies of love” (Longfellow 2). Longfellow's dramatic comparison of weapons and instruments would influence his readers in a way that would forever change how they viewed both the conflict and the symphony. Longfellow also appeals to his New England readers' sense of urgency in his famous historical poem “Paul Revere's Ride.” " In the poem, Paul Revere tells a friend to prepare signal lanterns in the Old North Church in revolutionary Boston, to prepare for the arrival of British forces, by land or sea. Revere intends to wait for the signal from across the river to Charlestown and be ready to spread the alarm throughout Middlesex County. The friend reports that the English are coming by sea and Revere passes through the towns of Medford, Lexington and Concord to warn the Patriot militia. Revere appears to the reader to be very urgent in the course of his adventure. “Then, impetuous, he trod the ground, turned and clutched the girth of his saddle; but above all he gazed with avid search at the steeple of the Old North Church” (Longfellow 3). he is very determined to complete his important mission. Revere's sense of urgency throughout the poem is a clear sign of Longfellow's attempt to appeal to the sense of urgency of Northerners during the Civil War, when the poem was written. Longfellow also used "Paul Revere's Ride" to remind his readers of their country's morals and values, reminding them of their nation's origins during the Revolutionary War. Another way Longfellow attempted to affect change in many of his New England readers and all those affected by the Revolutionary War in his poem "Paul Revere's Ride" answered their question "where do we come from." Revere answers this question almost immediately, in the first verse of the..