The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"Paul Revere's RIde" was written in 1860 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet. It was first published in the January 1861 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.
The poem was written to commemorate the actions of Paul Revere on April 18, 1775 when he rode from Charlestown to Lexington to warn the Patriots that the British were on their way. However, the poem is partially inaccurate and does not portray the full story of that night. To begin with, the poem mentions that the lanterns hung in Old North Church were meant for Paul Revere; Revere actually was the one who set up the lantern signal. The poem also mentions Revere rowing himself across the Charles River; he was actually rowed over by others. He did not reach Concord that night, and the overall time frame of the events is more drawn out in the poem. The biggest inaccuracy, however, is that Longfellow attributed the ride strictly to Paul Revere. There were two other riders that are not mentioned. William Dawes and Paul Revere rode two different routes from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British soldiers were coming. They then rode on toward Concord to warn the militia and were joined by Samuel Prescott. Revere, Dawes and Prescott were stopped by British troops on the way to Concord. Prescott and Dawes escaped but only Prescott was able to make it to Concord in time to warn the militia. |
Compare and ContrastListen to/read this short drama , The Heroic Paul Revere, written by Charles Blair. What similarities to Longfellow's poem can you find? Differences?
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