PART SECOND. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
Part Second is the central part of Longfellow's *Tales of a Wayside Inn*, a poem that uses a frame-narrative format where a group of travelers at an inn in Massachusetts share stories in verse.
The poem
Prelude The Sicilian’s Tale The Bell of Atri Interlude The Spanish Jew’s Tale Kambalu Interlude The Student’s Tale The Cobbler of Hagenau Interlude The Musician’s Tale The Ballad of Carmilhan Interlude The Poet’s Tale Lady Wentworth Interlude The Theologian’s Tale The Legend Beautiful Interlude The Student’s Second Tale The Baron of St. Castine Finale
Part Second is the central part of Longfellow's *Tales of a Wayside Inn*, a poem that uses a frame-narrative format where a group of travelers at an inn in Massachusetts share stories in verse. Similar to Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales*, each story is told by a different narrator — including a Sicilian, a Spanish Jew, a Student, a Musician, a Poet, and a Theologian — with topics ranging from romantic legends to moral fables. The "Preludes," "Interludes," and "Finale" serve to connect the stories, depicting the group as they chat, laugh, and reflect together around the fire.
Line-by-line
Prelude
The Sicilian's Tale / The Bell of Atri
The Spanish Jew's Tale / Kambalu
The Student's Tale / The Cobbler of Hagenau
The Musician's Tale / The Ballad of Carmilhan
The Poet's Tale / Lady Wentworth
The Theologian's Tale / The Legend Beautiful
The Student's Second Tale / The Baron of St. Castine
Finale
Tone & mood
Warm and inviting at the frame level — the inn scenes evoke the feeling of a pleasant evening with friends. Within the individual stories, the tone changes significantly: it's serious and just in *The Bell of Atri*, eerie and fatalistic in *The Ballad of Carmilhan*, quietly devout in *The Legend Beautiful*, and romantically adventurous in *Kambalu* and *The Baron of St. Castine*. Longfellow masterfully unifies these diverse tones with a calm, unhurried narrative voice that maintains a genuine enjoyment of storytelling itself.
Symbols & metaphors
- The Bell of Atri — The bell represents justice that is available to all — even, as the fable suggests, to a silent animal. It embodies the principle that the law should address real needs, rather than only cater to those with power or a voice.
- The inn and the fireside — The Wayside Inn embodies the spirit of community and oral storytelling. The fire that brings travelers together reflects our age-old desire to gather, share tales, and understand the world in each other's company.
- The phantom ship in Carmilhan — The ghost ship represents a timeless symbol of doom and the mysterious force of the sea. It serves as a reminder that nature — particularly the ocean — follows its own rules, showing no concern for human hopes or prayers.
- The monk's vision in The Legend Beautiful — The vision of Christ waiting for the monk's return symbolizes grace that rewards compassionate acts instead of punishing them. This perspective reshapes our understanding of religious devotion: the sacred resides in service, not in retreating from the world.
- The Baron's life between two worlds — St. Castine's life with the Wabanaki reflects a frontier where rigid identities blur. He embodies both French and Indigenous influences, prompting us to consider issues of belonging, loyalty, and the true essence of home.
Historical context
Longfellow released *Tales of a Wayside Inn* in three volumes between 1863 and 1874. The second part came out in 1872, during the last decade of his life, when he was America's most celebrated poet. The structure is inspired by Chaucer's *Canterbury Tales* and Boccaccio's *Decameron*, featuring a group of unique characters who share their stories in turn. The actual Wayside Inn still exists in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Longfellow sourced his tales from a wide array of inspirations, including Italian legends, Marco Polo's travels, German folklore, Norse sea ballads, New England history, and medieval hagiography. Part Second offers the greatest variety in tone and setting among the three parts, shifting from medieval Italy to Kublai Khan's China to the colonial American frontier, all woven together by the warmth of a single fictional evening.
FAQ
The middle section of *Tales of a Wayside Inn* is a long narrative poem by Longfellow, released in three parts. The entire work mimics *The Canterbury Tales*, featuring a group of travelers at an actual Massachusetts inn who take turns sharing stories in verse.
The same group from Part First remains: a Sicilian, a Spanish Jew, a Student, a Musician, a Poet, and a Theologian. The unique personalities and backgrounds of each narrator influence the stories they decide to share.
It’s a medieval Italian fable about a bell in the town square that people can ring to call for justice. An old horse, neglected and weary, rings it himself, prompting the king to decree that his former owner must take better care of him. This story highlights how justice can reach even those who don’t have a voice.
A monk leaves a vision of Christ to feed the poor, and when he comes back, the vision is still there. The lesson here is that acts of charity *are* acts of worship—you don’t have to pick between serving God and helping people, because they are one and the same.
The interludes breathe life into the frame story. They capture the travelers' reactions to each tale—whether they're debating, joking, or sitting quietly—which gives the entire collection the vibe of a single, vibrant evening instead of just a collection of individual poems.
Yes. Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin was a genuine 17th-century French nobleman who made his home in what is now Maine. He married a Wabanaki woman named Mathilde and became deeply involved in Indigenous life. Longfellow admired him as a person who navigated cultural divides in colonial America.
Part Second is often seen as the most tonally diverse of the three parts. It moves from the unsettling sea-horror of *The Ballad of Carmilhan* to the tender piety of *The Legend Beautiful*, and then to the romantic adventure of *Kambalu*, exploring a wider range of emotions and settings than Part First.
The frame allows him to write in various voices, genres, and historical periods while keeping the collection cohesive. It also enables him to delve into the notion that storytelling is a communal and humanizing experience—the travelers form a small society connected through the stories they tell.