Selected poems

Synopsis

A devout Quaker who became a passionate poetic spokesman for the antislavery movement, John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92) was one of the most beloved American poets of his era. In the years before the Civil War, he campaigned tirelessly against slavery in poems that include Ichabod,” his famous denunciation of Daniel Webster for his support of the Fugitive Slave Law. In the long poem Snow-Bound” (1866) he created a warm and enthralling portrait of rural life, while such works as Barbara Frietchie” and The Barefoot Boy” have been enduringly popular. This new selection brings together Whittier’s many aspects—political, religious, richly descriptive—and reaffirms the emotional honesty and depth of his work.