A Tentative Analysis Of Sentimentality In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Poetry

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the world’s most celebrated poets in the nineteenth century.Clear and musical,his poems were acclaimed by scholars as well as the public.His “Psalm of Life” sounded far and wide,and he was often dubbed as an optimistic poet in America.However,the coming of modernists smashed his bust of fame.A slew of scathing criticisms was followed by a slide of slow forgetfulness.Moreover,the once optimistic poet was accused of his poetic sentimentality.After reading his poems and some critical reviews,the author of this thesis acknowledges the sentimental color in his poems.Unlike previous critics’ assertion without elaboration,the author attempts to carry out a systematic research on Longfellow’s poetic sentimentality,in the hope of making some contribution to this aspect in the critical study of the poet.This thesis begins with a brief introduction of the development of sentimental literature: its origin in Europe and its metamorphosis in America.They shared some similarities because of consanguinity,as well as some unique features due to different social backgrounds.Longfellow has inseparable connections with both;thus,his sentimental poems inevitably embody some common features.Chapter Two is an examination of the poet’s personality and life experience,based on his biographies and his friends’ memoirs,to prove that the poet possesses a sentimental worldview.Then it moves on to the analysis of sentimentality in his poems.The author elaborates it through three frequent natural images and common themes from his poems.In the analytic process,it is found that Longfellow’s sentimentality in public differentiates from that in private — he is more self-revealing in private.The last chapter is a personal reconsideration of Longfellow’s sentimental poems,as an attempt to restore his reputation.In sum,adopting the approach of documentary research,this thesis concludes the development and features of sentimental literature,and examines the poet’s sentimental worldview.On such basis,the author of the thesis continues the analysis of sentimental embodiment in Longfellow’s poems and reexamines and assesses his poetic value at present and in history.