Early American Literature discussion
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Tales of a Wayside Inn
Nathaniel Hawthorne
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April 2020 Read: Tales of a Wayside Inn, Part 1
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Beautiful music! 😀🎶🎶
Glad you enjoyed it Emma! :) I actually just listened to the Finale for the first time (starting at about 23:13 in the YouTube video) and it even more grand!
I finished Part 1 today...the Poet's tale is now my favorite so far. :) What a beautiful description of the birds we have here! "The ballad-singers and the Troubadours,
The street-musicians of the heavenly city,
The birds, who make sweet music for us all
In our dark hours, as David did for Saul."
Mod
Doreen wrote: "The Student's Tale is very interesting for me. It's like being transported back to a very mysterious yet romantic time."It's beautiful but very sad.
I think I am going to try to memorize The Poet's Tale (The Birds of Killingworth)…I love it so much! :) According to the notes in my book, the story was largely Longfellow's own invention, unlike most of the others which he took from old legends he had read.
Mod
Doreen wrote: "The Saga of King Olaf is very different."Well I'm glad I'm not the only one! :D I found some passages to be very beautiful but am not sure I understood nearly everything that was going on, despite this being my second time to read it. And I attempted it with a greater appreciation knowing that it was Hawthorne's favorite. ;)
Today we had a terrific rain storm with hail which madereading "The Saga of King Olaf: The Wraith of Odin"
the more enjoyable.
"As one who from a volume reads,
He spake of heroes and their deeds,
Of lands and cities he had seen,
And stormy gulfs that tossed between.
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang.
.........
"The Bishop said, "Late hours we keep!
Night wanes, O King! 't is time for sleep!"
Then slept the King, and when he woke
The guest was gone, the morning broke.
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang.
They found the doors securely barred,
They found the watch-dog in the yard,
There was no footprint in the grass,
And none had seen the stranger pass.
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang.
King Olaf crossed himself and said:
"I know that Odin the Great is dead;
Sure is the triumph of our Faith,
The one-eyed stranger was his wraith."
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang
This is an unforgettable tale!
"
Ruth wrote: "Today we had a terrific rain storm with hail which madereading "The Saga of King Olaf: The Wraith of Odin"
the more enjoyable.
"As one who from a volume reads,
He spake of heroes and their deeds,..."
I'm glad you are enjoying it so much, Ruth. :) And I hope you didn't have any damage from the hail storm...but this would be the perfect read for such weather!
Here is a link to the Wikipedia article on King Olaf. Coincidentally am currently reading Malachi McCourt's "History of Ireland" and just read today about asking Olaf and the Vikings' place in the early history of Ireland and Scotland. I feel as though I will need to re-read The Saga of King Olaf to take it all in. I am appreciating how well-read Longfellow was!
Is this the article, Margaret? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Try...It was a very interesting read and helped me understand what was going on in the poem a little better! Thank you! :)
It is the article! I didn't realize that I forgot to include the link in my comment! Yes, I agree, the article really helps in understanding the poem better. :)
Hi Margaret,This was an informative article,
thanks for sharing it with us.
Until now, I vaguely heard of King Olaf,
he was quite a formidable man.
Longfellow depicted him very well
in this tale, especially in the battlefield.
The Musicians Tale: The Saga of King OlafXXII. The Nun of Nidaros
"Cross against corselet,
Love against hatred,
Peace-cry for war-cry!
Patience is powerful;
He that o'ercometh
Hath power o'er the nations!
"As torrents in summer,
Half dried in their channels,
Suddenly rise, though the
Sky is still cloudless,
For rain has been falling
Far off at their fountains;
So hearts that are fainting
Grow full to o'erflowing,
And they that behold it
Marvel, and know not
That God at their fountains
Far off has been raining!
"Stronger than steel
Is the sword of the Spirit;
Swifter than arrows
The light of the truth is,
Greater than anger
Is love, and subdueth!
"The dawn is not distant,
Nor is the night starless;
Love is eternal!
God is still God, and
His faith shall not fail us;
Christ is eternal!"
This is a powerful poem.
I almost hear the Nun fervently
Praying.
Here in Part 1, Preludejust before the Theologian's Tale
I can see Longfellow, himself, ruminating
over this.
"I stand without here in the porch,
I hear the bell's melodious din,
I hear the organ peal within,
I hear the prayer, with words that scorch
Like sparks from an inverted torch,
I hear the sermon upon sin,
With threatenings of the last account.
And all, translated in the air,
Reach me but as our dear Lord's Prayer,
And as the Sermon on the Mount.
"Must it be Calvin, and not Christ?
Must it be Athanasian creeds,
Or holy water, books, and beads?
Must struggling souls remain content
With councils and decrees of Trent?
And can it be enough for these
The Christian Church the year embalms
With evergreens and boughs of palms,
And fills the air with litanies?
"I know that yonder Pharisee
Thanks God that he is not like me;
In my humiliation dressed,
I only stand and beat my breast,
And pray for human charity."
The poet has given us his inheritance
of continuing his thoughts.
Beautiful, Ruth. <3
I love both these selections, Ruth!!!!
Sorry for the lack of updates...I finally finished the other book I was reading, so my plan is to catch up on Wayside this weekend!
Mod
Marian wrote: "Sorry for the lack of updates...I finally finished the other book I was reading, so my plan is to catch up on Wayside this weekend!"That's alright, Marian. We are looking forward to your thoughts! :)
Doreen wrote: "I'm finding the tale of Torquemada both fascinating and yet very sad."It definitely is both!
Meg wrote: "I think I am going to try to memorize The Poet's Tale (The Birds of Killingworth)…I love it so much! :) According to the notes in my book, the story was largely Longfellow's own invention, unlike m..."Hi Meg,
I just finished this poem, it was a great creation
of Longfellow.
"Plato, anticipating the Reviewers,
From his Republic banished without pity
The Poets; in this little town of yours,
You put to death, by means of a Committee,
The ballad-singers and the Troubadours,
The street-musicians of the heavenly city,
The birds, who make sweet music for us all
In our dark hours, as David did for Saul.*
(*I also like this analogy)
"Do you ne'er think what wondrous beings these?
Do you ne'er think who made them and who taught
The dialect they speak, where melodies
Alone are the interpreters of thought?
Whose household words are songs in many keys,
Sweeter than instrument of man e'er caught!
Whose habitations in the tree-tops even
Are half-way houses on the road to heaven!
"Think, every morning when the sun peeps through
The dim, leaf-latticed windows of the grove,
How jubilant the happy birds renew
Their old, melodious madrigals of love!
And when you think of this, remember too
'T is always morning somewhere, and above
The awakening continents; from shore to shore,
Somewhere the birds are singing evermore
🎶
(I have my windows open and the birds are 🐦
singing making this poem even more delightful.)
🕊 🎶
* "How can I teach your children gentleness,
And mercy to the weak, and reverence
For Life, which, in its weakness or excess,
Is still a gleam of God's omnipotence,
Or Death, which, seeming darkness, is no less
The selfsame light, although averted hence,
When by your laws, your actions, and your speech,
You contradict the very things I teach?"
* Salient points in this acute address
A great poem!
We have Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mocking birds,
some Finches, Turtle Doves and a type of Robin
that sing at different of the day; by this, one can gauge about the time of day. I love songs they
sing. The Turtle Doves usually perch on our
pear trees. The Cardinals and Blue Jays perch
on our fig tree and the curious Mocking Bird- head tilted- watches what I am doing,
perched on the eave of the house. 🐦🎶
🎶🕊 Isn't life grand!
Ruth wrote: "Hi Meg, I just finished this poem, it was a great creation
of Longfellow.
"Plato, anticipating the Reviewers,
From his Republic banished without pity
The Poets; in this little town of yours,..."
Dear Ruth,
I was waiting for you to get to this one...I just knew you would love it. :) 'Tis such a pretty thought, comparing the birds to the poets! The spring birds are here too and I think of this poem every time I hear them singing. Especially these lines...
"The ballad-singers and the Troubadours,
The street-musicians of the heavenly city,
The birds, who make sweet music for us all
In our dark hours, as David did for Saul."
You must have some beautiful birds down there! I've never seen a Turtle Dove but we do have Mourning Doves and we have Robins and Blue Jays too. I miss the Mockingbirds and Cardinals we had when we lived further south.
Meg wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Hi Meg, I just finished this poem, it was a great creation
of Longfellow.
"Plato, anticipating the Reviewers,
From his Republic banished without pity
The Poets; in this little town..."
His thought of birds is lovely and original:
" The ballad-singers and
the Troubadours,
The street-musicians..."
&
"... as David did for Saul."
I like this simile.
This is one of my favorite Longfellow poems.
Have you begun your memorization yet?
Whenever I think of his poems, Paul Revere
is galloping through my thoughts. 😊
_________________
The male Blue Jay doesn't sing often, but when
the Troubadour does, it is very commanding.
When sitting out there, the Robin will gradually come near to observe me, then goes about its business. These birds are wonderfully curious.
Several years ago, we had troublesome black birds
in the backyard, my sister was watching them from the kitchen window whilst drying the dishes.
Out of the blue, a hawk came down upon a black bird, pinning it down for a good ten minutes; then
flew off with its prey. We have never seen anything like that; sometimes we see them soaring at a distance, but never up close. Needless to say,
that afternoon the backyard was quiet after that unexpected visitor.
I'm slowly working on memorizing it...so far I just have the first two stanzas memorized. I'm trying to do one a day but it has taken me four days to memorize these. I've found that memorization is like exercise…the more you do it the easier it gets, but if you haven't done it in a while (and I haven't done any since last Fall) it's difficult at first. The interesting thing is that I can still be struggling to remember a couple of lines when I go to bed, but when I wake up in the morning the verse comes to me effortlessly! Do you ever memorize poetry? I know Paul Revere's Ride is a popular one...I'd like to memorize it too sometime. :)
Yes, Blue Jays aren't exactly song birds, but they are beautiful! There's another verse in the Prelude to Part 3 where Longfellow compares the less melodious birds to the minor poets.
Wow, that would have been something to see! I can imagine the other birds would have stayed in hiding for a while after that incident! :0
Now that I've figured out how to post pictures, I thought I'd share the pictures I found of the real people who Longfellow portrayed as the guests at the Wayside Inn. The only ones I can't find are the Spanish Jew and the Landlord. Ole Bull, The Musician...
Thomas William Parsons, The Poet...
Luigi Monti, The Sicilian...
Daniel Treadwell, The Theologian...
And Henry Ware Wales, The Student...
These are great photos, Meg! They all look so distinguished! Longfellow must have been very inspired by their company!
I just finished the first 3 tales (yes I'm verrryy behind haha), and wow, the one about the falcon was quite sad. Continuing with the rest of Part 1 this evening....
It is nice to see you Marian.☺
Marian wrote: "I just finished the first 3 tales (yes I'm verrryy behind haha), and wow, the one about the falcon was quite sad. Continuing with the rest of Part 1 this evening...."Oh I know, I think that is the saddest tale of all...I rarely cry over a book but it does make my heart ache every time. :(
Meg,Thanks for posting these photos,
it brings the Tales of the Wayside
Inn guests to life.
As I am reading the poems, I am
visualizing the teller's image,
Longfellow presented the well.
Ruth wrote: "Meg,Thanks for posting these photos,
it brings the Tales of the Wayside
Inn guests to life.
As I am reading the poems, I am
visualizing the teller's image,
Longfellow presented the well."
He really did! I'm always amazed at many 19th century authors' descriptive powers...they are just pictures made with words!
Meg wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Meg,Thanks for posting these photos,
it brings the Tales of the Wayside
Inn guests to life.
As I am reading the poems, I am
visualizing the teller's image,
Longfellow presented the ..."
Well said, Meg.
They are the Rembrandt masters of words.
I just found this quite by accident! The Saga of Kind Olaf set to music by Sir Edward Elgar! I'm listening to it right now and it's very good so far...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aV4y...
Just finished part 1 (better late than never??). I liked the concept of King Olaf but it was a bit long for me. Will check out the song later - I love Elgar! :) Torquemada was creepy. The Birds of Killingworth was really good, but sad too. It reminded me of a few years back when the government started killing barred owls, supposedly to save spotted owls. I don't think we should be messing with nature like that.
Marian wrote: "Just finished part 1 (better late than never??). I liked the concept of King Olaf but it was a bit long for me. Will check out the song later - I love Elgar! :) Torquemada was creepy. The Birds of ..."No problem, Marian. :) I think I'm just going to leave these threads open anyway.
Elgar is one of my favorite composers, too! :) I listened to most of this piece yesterday. I had some trouble making out what was being said, but when I could hear it I could tell it was the poem word for word. It would be neat to read along while listening.
I didn't know about the killing of barred owls...I agree, it doesn't sound right at all!
Meg wrote: "I just found this quite by accident! The Saga of Kind Olaf set to music by Sir Edward Elgar! I'm listening to it right now and it's very good so far...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9aV4y..."
Wow! What a dramatic production!
It was brilliant on their part to take this
epic poem and turn it into an operatic
performance. Wraith of Odin was sooo
good.😡🙊 This would have been a treat
to see in person with other fans of
Longfellow. 🎭
Ruth wrote: "Wow! What a dramatic production!It was brilliant on their part to take this
epic poem and turn it into an operatic
performance. Wraith of Odin was sooo
good...."
Now I'm finding out that there are more of Longfellow's poems set to music! Elgar also set music to 'The Black Knight', which is a German poem that Longfellow translated and one of my favorites. And Samuel Coleridge-Taylor wrote music for 'The Song of Hiawatha'. I'm listening to the overture of that right now and it is beautiful!!
I just found that there is a picture of the Landlord! His name was Lyman Howe...
Meg wrote: "I just found that there is a picture of the Landlord! His name was Lyman Howe..."
That's really cool! Not quite how I'd pictured him (older) but I can see it now.
Reading Longfellow's Country this morning I came across this beautiful story about Longfellow and children, told by Luigi Monti, the Sicilian...Mr. Scudder relates a story told by Luigi Monti, who for many years dined with the poet every Saturday, which illustrates the pleasure he derived from the appreciation showered upon him by children.
"One Christmas, as he [Luigi Monti] was walking toward the house, he was accosted by a girl about twelve years old, who inquired where Mr. Longfellow lived. He told her it was some distance down the street, but if she would walk along with him he would show her. When they reached the gate, she said:
'Do you think I can go into the yard?'
'Oh, yes,' said Signor Monti. 'Do you see the room on the left? That is where Martha Washington held her receptions a hundred years ago. If you look at the windows on the right you will probably see a white-haired gentleman reading a paper. Well, that will be Mr. Longfellow.'
"The child looked gratified and happy at the unexpected pleasure of really seeing the man whose poems she said she loved. As Signor Monti drew near the house he saw Mr. Longfellow standing with his back against the window, his head out of sight.
When he went in, the kind-hearted Italian said: 'Do look out of the window and bow to that little girl, who wants to see you very much.'
'A little girl wants to see me very much? Where is she?' He hastened to the door, and, beckoning with his hand, called out: 'Come here, little girl; come here, if you want to see me.'
She came forward, and he took her hand and asked her name. Then he kindly led her into the house, showed her the old clock on the stairs, the children's chair, and the various souvenirs which he had gathered."
What a wonderful anecdote, Meg! Doesn't one's heart warm up to Longfellow more and more? And what a great photo of The Landlord! -- I was reading "tales of a Wayside Inn" online but ordered a physical copy in the mail this week because I loved it so much!Meg, I could see you writing and publishing an annotated edition.
Margaret wrote: "What a wonderful anecdote, Meg! Doesn't one's heart warm up to Longfellow more and more? And what a great photo of The Landlord! -- I was reading "tales of a Wayside Inn" online but ordered a physi..."I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, Margaret. It is good to own a physical copy that you can return to anytime. :)
I think there is actually a good annotated book of Longfellow's poems. I haven't read it yet but have seen a few page clips on Google and it looks great! A Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Companion
Meg wrote: "I just found that there is a picture of the Landlord! His name was Lyman Howe..."
So this is the Landlord, "the Squire"!
I, too, thought that he was much older.
To finally his face as he delivered
his tale of "Paul Revere's Midnight
Ride" and I was an imaginary guest
at his table.
Meg wrote: "Reading Longfellow's Country this morning I came across this beautiful story about Longfellow and children, told by Luigi Monti, the Sicilian...Mr. Scudder relates a story told by..."
It is so pleasing to read that Longfellow
was an agreeable gentleman, young or
old, extending his warm hand in friendship.
To have such a friend is richness indeed.
Early American Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
Longfellow's Country (other topics)A Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Companion (other topics)
Longfellow's Country (other topics)
Dear Mr. Longfellow: Letters to and from the Children's Poet (other topics)
The Decameron (other topics)
More...
This is handsomely written.
"Old ballads, and wild melodies
Through mist and darkness pouring forth,
Like Elivagar's river flowing
Out of the glaciers of the North."
I never thought of music like that,
pour forth and flowing- it precisely how it is.
I will remember this the next time I listen
to Classical music."
Oh I love those lines so much! :) The music that comes to mind is the first movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor (and of course he was Norwegian!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozn4C3...