MARCH by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

March is a single-stanza poem where the month itself voices its frustration. Once the first month of the year, March is furious after a Roman ruler demoted it to third place, handing the crown to January. In retaliation, March unleashes storms, floods, and hurricanes upon humanity. It’s like a mythological temper tantrum masquerading as a weather forecast.

The tone is both indignant and theatrical. March talks like a dethroned king — loud, full of himself, and ready for a fight. Beneath it all lies a dark humor, since the "revenge" March talks about is really just typical stormy weather. This makes his grand rage feel amusing and surprisingly relatable. Longfellow maintains a straight face the whole time, which enhances the comedy.

Longfellow wrote a series of short poems that give each month a unique personality, and "March" is one of them. He was part of a long tradition of calendar poetry that dates back to classical times, but instead of just focusing on the weather or farming themes, he allowed each month to express its own character and voice. The poem's historical details are spot on. The earliest Roman calendar, credited to Romulus, had ten months and started in March. Later, King Numa Pompilius added January and February, pushing March to the third position. January is named after Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings — a move that March, named for Mars the god of war, seems to have never quite accepted. Longfellow published these poems about the months in the 1870s, towards the end of his career, when he was exploring different personas and voices. The poem itself consists of a single eight-line stanza in iambic pentameter with an ABABBCBC rhyme scheme, which gives it a neat, structured form that contrasts effectively with the energetic content.