Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie
1847
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie
1847
In 1755, the British rounded up the Acadian people in Grand-Pré and shipped them across the continent. Among the thousands torn from their homes were two young lovers, Evangeline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse, separated in the chaos of deportation and never finding each other again. Longfellow's narrative poem traces Evangeline's relentless search across forests, settlements, and decades, a pilgrimage driven by love that refuses to die. She becomes a wanderer through a young nation's wilderness, her faith wavering but never breaking. The verse carries the weight of exile and the quiet heroism of persistence in the face of impossible odds. First published in 1847, the poem gave literature one of its most haunting images: a woman who spends her life searching, sustained only by memory and hope. It endures because Longfellow transforms historical tragedy into something achingly personal, a meditation on what it means to love beyond reason, beyond geography, beyond death itself.
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“Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Still stands the forest primeval; but far away from its shadow, Side by side, in their nameless graves, the lovers are sleeping.Under the humble walls of the little catholic churchyard,In the heart of the city, they lie, unknown and unnoticed;Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing beside them,Thousands of throbbing hearts, where theirs are at rest and forever,Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no longer are busy,Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from their labors,Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed their journey!””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“And, as she looked around, she saw how Death, the consoler, Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it forever.””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music.””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Patience; accomplish thy labor; accomplish thy work of affection! Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike. Therefore accomplish thy labor of love, till the heart is made godlike, Purified, strengthened, perfected, and rendered more worthy of heaven!””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Thus dwelt together in love these simple Acadian farmers,”
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“All was ended now, the hope, and the fear, and the sorrow, All the aching of heart, the restless, unsatisfied longing, All the dull, deep pain, and constant anguish of patience! And, as she pressed once more the lifeless head to her bosom, Meekly she bowed her own, and murmured, "Father, I thank thee!””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing beside them, Thousands of throbbing hearts, where theirs are at rest and forever, Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no longer are busy, Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from their labors, Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed their journey!””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice Triumphs;””
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
