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Gardner by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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A traveler arrives at a familiar farmstead, only to find it hauntingly empty — devoid of animals, people, or any sound.

Poet
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Core theme
Death
The PoemFull text

Gardner

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Here stands the house as I remember it. The four tall poplar-trees before the door; The house, the barn, the orchard, and the well, With its moss-covered bucket and its trough; The garden, with its hedge of currant-bushes; The woods, the harvest-fields; and, far beyond, The pleasant landscape stretching to the sea. But everything is silent and deserted! No bleat of flocks, no bellowing of herds, No sound of flails, that should be beating now; Nor man nor beast astir. What can this mean? Knocks at the door. What ho! Giles Corey! Hillo-ho! Giles Corey!-- No answer but the echo from the barn, And the ill-omened cawing of the crow, That yonder wings his flight across the fields, As if he scented carrion in the air. Enter TITUBA with a basket. What woman's this, that, like an apparition, Haunts this deserted homestead in broad day? Woman, who are you?

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Sourced from Project Gutenberg

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§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A traveler arrives at a familiar farmstead, only to find it hauntingly empty — devoid of animals, people, or any sound. He calls out for Giles Corey but hears only his own voice echoing back and the unsettling cry of a crow. Then, he catches sight of a mysterious woman drifting through the desolate property. The atmosphere is thick with dread, as if something terrible has already taken place or is on the verge of happening.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Here stands the house as I remember it. / The four tall poplar-trees before the door;

    Editor's note

    The speaker begins with a wave of familiarity — this is a place he knows intimately. Longfellow gathers the recognizable details (poplars, barn, orchard, well, garden, woods, fields, sea) in one long breath, creating an image of a vibrant, everyday farm. The list evokes warmth and a sense of nostalgia, making the subsequent shift feel even more impactful.

  2. But everything is silent and deserted! / No bleat of flocks, no bellowing of herds,

    Editor's note

    The word "But" changes everything. While the first half of the stanza highlights what the speaker *sees*, this half is characterized solely by what is *absent* — no animal sounds, no threshing, no humans or beasts moving about. The rhetorical question "What can this mean?" expresses the speaker's alarm and invites the reader to share in this sense of unease.

  3. What ho! Giles Corey! Hillo-ho! Giles Corey!-- / No answer but the echo from the barn,

    Editor's note

    The speaker shouts, and the repeated name along with the old-fashioned greetings create a sense of urgency and familiarity. The only response is his voice echoing back from the barn, followed by a crow flying above. Crows are often seen as omens of death, and the phrase "scented carrion in the air" makes the threat feel tangible and urgent.

  4. What woman's this, that, like an apparition, / Haunts this deserted homestead in broad day?

    Editor's note

    Tituba enters, and the speaker's language instantly portrays her as otherworldly — "apparition," "haunts." The broad daylight only adds to the oddity of her presence, making it feel more unsettling than reassuring. The last question, "Woman, who are you?" lingers in the air, leaving the passage with a sense of confrontation and intrigue.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone begins with a warm, nostalgic feeling before suddenly shifting to one of dread. Longfellow intentionally contrasts these emotions; the more affectionately he describes the farm, the eerier its silence feels. By the time the crow shows up, the atmosphere has completely turned to gothic unease, and Tituba's arrival maintains that tension.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The crow
A traditional symbol of death and bad luck in many cultures, the crow serves two purposes here. It breaks the silence that comes from the absence of the farm animals, and its "cawing" and attraction to "carrion" imply that death has arrived, even if no body has been discovered yet.
The deserted farmstead
A working farm in 17th-century New England represented order, community, and God's favor. Its abrupt abandonment indicates a breakdown of that order — something has harshly interrupted the usual rhythms of life.
The echo
When the speaker calls for Giles Corey and only hears his own voice in return, the echo symbolizes absence. The farm can't respond because there's no one left to answer — the community has been emptied.
Tituba as apparition
The speaker's use of the word "apparition" to describe a living woman shows just how far removed this poem's world is from reality. Tituba, a historical figure central to the Salem witch trials, embodies a powerful symbol of someone caught in the midst of accusation, fear, and the struggle to survive.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Meter
blank verse

§07Historical context

Historical context

This passage is an excerpt from Longfellow's verse drama *Giles Corey of the Salem Farms* (1868), the third play in his *New England Tragedies*. It tells the story of the Salem witch trials of 1692, centering on Giles Corey — an elderly farmer who was pressed to death with stones for refusing to plead. Longfellow wrote this play in the years after the Civil War, a time when Americans were grappling with shared guilt, mob violence, and the toll of fanaticism. The real Tituba was an enslaved woman from Barbados whose pressured confession helped spark the witch-trial hysteria. By starting with an abandoned farm and the ghostly entrance of Tituba, Longfellow signals that the community's fear is already turning in on itself.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

Who is Giles Corey and why does it matter that no one answers when the speaker calls his name?

Giles Corey was a Salem farmer who became one of the most notorious victims of the 1692 witch trials. He was pressed to death with heavy stones over two days for refusing to enter a plea—his defiance has turned him into a symbol of resistance against mob injustice. The unanswered call in the poem hints at his fate: in a sense, he is already lost to the community.

Who is Tituba and why does the speaker react to her with such suspicion?

Tituba was an enslaved woman living with Reverend Samuel Parris in Salem. Faced with intense pressure, she admitted to witchcraft and implicated others, which set the trials in motion. Longfellow's speaker feels a mix of fear towards her, influenced not only by her race and low status in Puritan society but also by the poem’s prevailing sense of supernatural dread — anyone wandering through an abandoned farm appears ghostly.

Is this a poem or a play?

It is both, in a sense. Giles Corey of the Salem Farms is a verse drama — a play written entirely in verse. This passage serves as a dramatic scene, complete with stage directions like "Knocks at the door" and "Enter TITUBA," while maintaining a poetic quality throughout. You can think of it like Shakespeare's works: intended for performance but also meant to be enjoyed as poetry.

What does the crow symbolize here?

The crow has long been associated with death and bad omens in Western literature and folklore. In this context, it breaks the silence created by the absence of the farm animals and is portrayed as if it can "scent carrion," suggesting it detects death nearby. Longfellow subtly indicates to the reader that something deadly has already occurred or is imminent.

Why does Longfellow describe the farm in such loving detail before revealing it is empty?

The contrast is crucial. By dedicating several lines to the poplars, the orchard, the well, the garden, and the sea view, Longfellow immerses the reader in the farm's vibrant warmth and life. When that warmth is abruptly taken away — "But everything is silent and deserted!" — the resulting emptiness hits hard, almost like a physical blow. You can only grasp the loss if you first truly appreciate what has been lost.

Why did Longfellow write about the Salem witch trials?

Longfellow published New England Tragedies in 1868, shortly after the Civil War. The war had pushed Americans to grapple with the destructive power of collective fear, hatred, and mob mentality within society. The Salem trials served as a poignant historical parallel—a community that harmed innocent individuals due to mass hysteria. Through this lens, Longfellow was drawing on history to reflect on the risks of fanaticism across different times.

What does the phrase 'ill-omened cawing of the crow' mean?

"Ill-omened" refers to carrying a bad omen — a signal that something dreadful is on the way or has already occurred. The crow's caw is more than just an annoying noise; in this scene, it stands out as the sole living response to the speaker's call, giving it the eerie feeling of an answer from death itself.

Is this passage written in a specific poetic form?

Yes — it uses blank verse, which consists of unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter (about ten syllables per line with a da-DUM da-DUM rhythm). This was the typical format for serious English-language verse drama, adopted by Shakespeare and Milton before Longfellow. The absence of rhyme allows it to flow like natural conversation, while the meter adds a sense of gravity and structure.

Citation

Cite this poem

MLA

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "Gardner." Storgy, https://storgy.com/poems/gardner-henry-wadsworth-longfellow/.

APA

Longfellow, H. W. (n.d.). Gardner. Storgy. https://storgy.com/poems/gardner-henry-wadsworth-longfellow/

TeacherAP Lit Q1 scaffold — preview

Row A — Thesis

1 pt

In the dramatic excerpt 'GARDNER.' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the speaker's growing dread as he surveys a landscape that is visually familiar yet eerily devoid of human life reveals that absence itself becomes the poem's central …

  • Row B — Evidence + Commentary4 pts
  • Row C — Sophistication1 pt
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