Literary Analysis Of Gitche Manito's 'Song Of Hiawatha'
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The Song of Hiawatha he lauds the kindness, wisdom, and bravery that are embodied in his title character, as well as addressing the theme of the importance of home and the happiness it can bring. hailed by many as the first poetic achievement by a white man concerning the myths and legends of the American Indians, its popularity has waned in recent years, and critics have mocked it as overly sentimental and idealized. he Song of Hiawatha is an episodic poem arranged in twenty-three cantos. It tells of the triumphs and sorrows of Hiawatha of the Ojibway, a tribe of Indians living along the Lake Superior shoreline in what is now Michigan. Hiawatha 's coming is foretold by Gitche Manito, the mighty spirit who gathers his people together and tells them a peacekeeper will be born who will bring wisdom to the warring tribes and stop their fighting. He begins hiawaht:
“Shoud you ask me, whence these stores? / Whence these lengends and traditons, “..I should answer, I should tell you, ?”from the forests and ther pariies.
The Indians are American, but the poem reflects the European legend of the noble savage and the classical conventions of the heroic poem. Longfellow’s Indians are fierce, even savage, but they are also brave, stoic, and patriotic. Indeed, they bear a strong resemblance to the Greeks of Homer and the Trojans of Virgil. (enotes)
While both, Evangeline and The Song of Hiwatha were immensely successful, It was his poem about Patroit Paul Revere’s ride though the