Credo: Latin, I believe: the first word in the Latin version of by James Russell Lowell

It's a love story set in New England dialect. A bashful farm boy named Zekle goes to visit a girl named Huldy, and he spends the entire evening struggling to find the words. He almost leaves without saying a thing, but at the last moment, she gives him a sign that she accepts him. It's a funny, heartwarming tale, and it's quite brief.

Lowell intentionally used the dialect of rural New England to reflect the voices and character of everyday Yankee folks. The Biglow Papers, introduced by this poem, are entirely written in dialect to honor those voices with dignity and humor. This choice also gives the poem a sense of immediacy and authenticity, making it feel more relatable and less like a distant literary work.

They're fictional characters — a young farm laborer and the girl he's trying to win over. They don’t have a lot of backstory; they’re more like archetypes than fully developed individuals, but Lowell brings them to life with vivid physical details and the humor of Zekle’s shyness.

In 19th-century rural New England, 'courting' referred to the traditional practice where a young man would visit a young woman at her family home, intending to propose marriage at some point. This social ritual involved the entire family being present, which is partly why Zekle feels so nervous.

It resonated because it was funny, relatable, and truly warm toward its characters. Critics and readers who might have found the political satire of the Biglow Papers a bit too much could simply appreciate this as a delightful little story. The dialect sounded fresh and vibrant instead of patronizing.

The Biglow Papers consist of two series of satirical poems published by Lowell in 1848 and 1867. They are written from the perspective of a fictional New England farmer named Hosea Biglow. The first series critiques the Mexican-American War, while the second focuses on the Civil War. The Courtin' serves as a lighter introduction to both series.

It has a ballad-like structure—short stanzas, a strong narrative drive, and a simple rhyme scheme—but it's more like a comic pastoral or a dialect idyll. It tells a story like a ballad, but the tone is lighthearted and domestic instead of dramatic or tragic.

Stedman argues that the poem is genuinely American—specifically, it embodies the essence of New England—much like a wild grape thrives in its native soil. He suggests it's not merely a copy of English or European poetry, but rather something that has organically emerged from a distinct American landscape and culture.