Themes and Significance of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Literary Works

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19th Century Literature
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a nineteenth-century American poet whose excellent works raised remarkable points of modernism and survival. Throughout his writing career, he infused spiritual rituals of Native Indian ideologies with progressive nuances regarding human consciousness and rites of passage. Longfellow used the natural and impulsively wise attributes of the former Native Indians. Regarded as a poet master, he made pioneering contributions to the American literary work by embodying the likelihood of a successful authorial career. His famous works include The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline.
The Song of Hiawatha
The song of Hiawatha is an 1855 ethic poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (National Park Service). It is one of Longfellow's famous works, featuring the Ojibwe tribe hero that the poet calls Hiawatha. This literary work may best be described as an epic poem. An epic is a long poem that usually recounts the exploits of a great hero who represents a nation's or people's aspirations, and this is the central theme of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha. It is characterized by a valuable hero to a country, a vast in scope setting, supernatural forces, superhuman courage, and an elevated writing style. What sets this epic apart is that the author is not a Native American, but he introduces and preserves the rich culture of an often neglected and misunderstood ethnic group.
One theme that comes out clearly from this literary work is heroism, as seen in Hiawatha's trait. This character is based on oral legends about Manabozho, a great Indian warrior who lived in a pristine American setting and accomplished heroic and wondrous exploits. Hiawatha's heroism and bravery truly stood out when he protected his people from Pau-Pok-Keewis. He eventually killed Pau-Pok-Keewis after struggling for a long time to find him, freeing the Native Americans from the monster. The portrayal of Hiawatha is of extreme significance. He embodies honesty, wisdom, and justice using his magical powers to benefit his people. He teaches them how to write, craft, heal and plant corns to prosper. He also fights to conquer monsters and establish peace.
The significance of the song of Hiawatha lies in both its strengths and weaknesses. Critics have argued that the poem was not based on the idea that Native American culture would disappear. This abrasive feature can inspire contemporary readers to value and support an indigenous culture that endures and thrives (National Park Service). It is also worth acknowledging that the poem has helped some of those cultural traditions to survive. The poem has inspired more than one hundred places in the native languages of Algonquian and Siouan.
While producing this work, Longfellow established the first major piece of popular culture where he portrayed Native Americans in a heroic light instead of a patronizing or outright negative one (National Park Service). The present generation reading this poem learns to be cautious of popular stereotypes and involve groups when making their own culture meaningful. Through this work, Longfellow has assimilated Native American culture into a substantial American epic that today&rsquo...