PICTURE-WRITING by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This is Canto XV of Longfellow's epic poem *The Song of Hiawatha*, which narrates the tale of how the famed Ojibwe leader Hiawatha created picture-writing.
The poem
In those days said Hiawatha, "Lo! how all things fade and perish! From the memory of the old men Pass away the great traditions, The achievements of the warriors, The adventures of the hunters, All the wisdom of the Medas, All the craft of the Wabenos, All the marvellous dreams and visions Of the Jossakeeds, the Prophets! "Great men die and are forgotten, Wise men speak; their words of wisdom Perish in the ears that hear them, Do not reach the generations That, as yet unborn, are waiting In the great, mysterious darkness Of the speechless days that shall be! "On the grave-posts of our fathers Are no signs, no figures painted; Who are in those graves we know not, Only know they are our fathers. Of what kith they are and kindred, From what old, ancestral Totem, Be it Eagle, Bear, or Beaver, They descended, this we know not, Only know they are our fathers. "Face to face we speak together, But we cannot speak when absent, Cannot send our voices from us To the friends that dwell afar off; Cannot send a secret message, But the bearer learns our secret, May pervert it, may betray it, May reveal it unto others." Thus said Hiawatha, walking In the solitary forest, Pondering, musing in the forest, On the welfare of his people. From his pouch he took his colors, Took his paints of different colors, On the smooth bark of a birch-tree Painted many shapes and figures, Wonderful and mystic figures, And each figure had a meaning, Each some word or thought suggested. Gitche Manito the Mighty, He, the Master of Life, was painted As an egg, with points projecting To the four winds of the heavens. Everywhere is the Great Spirit, Was the meaning of this symbol. Mitche Manito the Mighty, He the dreadful Spirit of Evil, As a serpent was depicted, As Kenabeek, the great serpent. Very crafty, very cunning, Is the creeping Spirit of Evil, Was the meaning of this symbol. Life and Death he drew as circles, Life was white, but Death was darkened; Sun and moon and stars he painted, Man and beast, and fish and reptile, Forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers. For the earth he drew a straight line, For the sky a bow above it; White the space between for daytime, Filled with little stars for night-time; On the left a point for sunrise, On the right a point for sunset, On the top a point for noontide, And for rain and cloudy weather Waving lines descending from it. Footprints pointing towards a wigwam Were a sign of invitation, Were a sign of guests assembling; Bloody hands with palms uplifted Were a symbol of destruction, Were a hostile sign and symbol. All these things did Hiawatha Show unto his wondering people, And interpreted their meaning, And he said: "Behold, your grave-posts Have no mark, no sign, nor symbol, Go and paint them all with figures; Each one with its household symbol, With its own ancestral Totem; So that those who follow after May distinguish them and know them." And they painted on the grave-posts On the graves yet unforgotten, Each his own ancestral Totem, Each the symbol of his household; Figures of the Bear and Reindeer, Of the Turtle, Crane, and Beaver, Each inverted as a token That the owner was departed, That the chief who bore the symbol Lay beneath in dust and ashes. And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, The Wabenos, the Magicians, And the Medicine-men, the Medas, Painted upon bark and deer-skin Figures for the songs they chanted, For each song a separate symbol, Figures mystical and awful, Figures strange and brightly colored; And each figure had its meaning, Each some magic song suggested. The Great Spirit, the Creator, Flashing light through all the heaven; The Great Serpent, the Kenabeek, With his bloody crest erected, Creeping, looking into heaven; In the sky the sun, that listens, And the moon eclipsed and dying; Owl and eagle, crane and hen-hawk, And the cormorant, bird of magic; Headless men, that walk the heavens, Bodies lying pierced with arrows, Bloody hands of death uplifted, Flags on graves, and great war-captains Grasping both the earth and heaven! Such as these the shapes they painted On the birch-bark and the deer-skin; Songs of war and songs of hunting, Songs of medicine and of magic, All were written in these figures, For each figure had its meaning, Each its separate song recorded. Nor forgotten was the Love-Song, The most subtle of all medicines, The most potent spell of magic, Dangerous more than war or hunting! Thus the Love-Song was recorded, Symbol and interpretation. First a human figure standing, Painted in the brightest scarlet; 'T is the lover, the musician, And the meaning is, "My painting Makes me powerful over others." Then the figure seated, singing, Playing on a drum of magic, And the interpretation, "Listen! 'T is my voice you hear, my singing!" Then the same red figure seated In the shelter of a wigwam, And the meaning of the symbol, "I will come and sit beside you In the mystery of my passion!" Then two figures, man and woman, Standing hand in hand together With their hands so clasped together That they seemed in one united, And the words thus represented Are, "I see your heart within you, And your cheeks are red with blushes!" Next the maiden on an island, In the centre of an island; And the song this shape suggested Was, "Though you were at a distance, Were upon some far-off island, Such the spell I cast upon you, Such the magic power of passion, I could straightway draw you to me!" Then the figure of the maiden Sleeping, and the lover near her, Whispering to her in her slumbers, Saying, "Though you were far from me In the land of Sleep and Silence, Still the voice of love would reach you!" And the last of all the figures Was a heart within a circle, Drawn within a magic circle; And the image had this meaning: "Naked lies your heart before me, To your naked heart I whisper!" Thus it was that Hiawatha, In his wisdom, taught the people All the mysteries of painting, All the art of Picture-Writing, On the smooth bark of the birch-tree, On the white skin of the reindeer, On the grave-posts of the village. XV
This is Canto XV of Longfellow's epic poem *The Song of Hiawatha*, which narrates the tale of how the famed Ojibwe leader Hiawatha created picture-writing. This system of symbols, painted on birch bark and grave-posts, allowed his people to preserve their history, communicate over distances, and document their songs. Hiawatha begins by recognizing a significant issue: great deeds and wise words are fading away because there’s no method to record them. By the end, he has provided his people with a complete visual language, including a love song represented by specific symbols.
Line-by-line
In those days said Hiawatha, / "Lo! how all things fade and perish!"
"Great men die and are forgotten, / Wise men speak; their words of wisdom"
"On the grave-posts of our fathers / Are no signs, no figures painted;"
"Face to face we speak together, / But we cannot speak when absent,"
Thus said Hiawatha, walking / In the solitary forest,
Gitche Manito the Mighty, / He, the Master of Life, was painted
For the earth he drew a straight line, / For the sky a bow above it;
Footprints pointing towards a wigwam / Were a sign of invitation,
All these things did Hiawatha / Show unto his wondering people,
And they painted on the grave-posts / On the graves yet unforgotten,
And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, / The Wabenos, the Magicians,
Nor forgotten was the Love-Song, / The most subtle of all medicines,
Thus it was that Hiawatha, / In his wisdom, taught the people
Tone & mood
The tone is ceremonial and measured, reflecting a belief in the importance of the words being spoken. Longfellow employs the trochaic tetrameter he adapted from the Finnish epic *Kalevala*, and this steady, drum-like rhythm lends a ritualistic feel to the canto, reminiscent of something recited around a fire. There’s a true reverence for both the act of writing and the culture being represented. As the poem transitions to the love-song section, the tone shifts to become softer, almost tender and playfully witty—love is portrayed as the most powerful and mysterious force that the new writing system seeks to encapsulate.
Symbols & metaphors
- The egg with four projecting points (Gitche Manito) — The Great Spirit, depicted as an egg radiating in all directions, symbolizes omnipresence — the divine exists everywhere simultaneously. It also represents origin and potential, as an egg holds life within it before it becomes visible.
- The serpent (Mitche Manito / Kenabeek) — The great serpent represents the Spirit of Evil — sly and slithering, always gazing toward heaven as if plotting against it. While the serpent is a widely recognized symbol of evil, in this context, it is rooted in the unique traditions of the Ojibwe people.
- The inverted totem on the grave-post — A clan totem painted upside-down indicates that the individual associated with that symbol has passed away. This inversion transforms a sign of life into a symbol of death — the same image, reversed, conveys a completely different meaning.
- The white circle (Life) and darkened circle (Death) — Life and Death as two overlapping circles — one bright, one dark — imply that they share the same shape and form, differing only in light. This is a subtly profound visual concept: death isn’t the absence of life; it’s more like a shadow.
- The scarlet figure of the lover — In the love-song sequence, the lover is depicted in a vivid scarlet — a color that embodies passion, visibility, and strength. Here, red signifies not danger but intensity; the lover is a presence that demands attention.
- The heart within a magic circle — The last symbol of the love song — a heart inside a drawn circle — signifies complete intimacy and vulnerability. The magic circle marks a boundary that has been crossed; the beloved's deepest self is now open to the lover's voice.
Historical context
Longfellow published *The Song of Hiawatha* in 1855, at a time when American readers were eager for a national mythology that could compete with the great European epics. He based the poem's meter directly on the Finnish *Kalevala* and primarily sourced his material from Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's ethnographic works on Ojibwe (Chippewa) culture, especially *Algic Researches* (1839) and *Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States* (1851–57). Canto XV, which is located near the center of the epic, addresses the invention of picture-writing — a subject that Schoolcraft had explored in depth, including reproductions of Ojibwe mnemonic symbols used in songs and ceremonies. The poem was a huge commercial hit but has since faced significant criticism for romanticizing and oversimplifying Indigenous cultures into a single, idealized representation. Reading it today involves reconciling both the genuine literary artistry and the distorted perspective of 19th-century American settler romanticism.
FAQ
Hiawatha creates picture-writing because his people lack a method to preserve memories, honor their deceased, or communicate over distances. The canto tracks his journey from recognizing the issue, to developing the symbols, to teaching the community, and demonstrating how the system serves various purposes, from cosmology to love songs.
These are three types of spiritual specialists in Ojibwe tradition. The Medas, also known as Midewiwin, were part of the Grand Medicine Society. The Wabenos practiced the dawn ceremony and were linked to fire and healing. The Jossakeeds were seers or prophets recognized for their visions. Longfellow highlights these figures to illustrate that the new writing system benefits the entire community — encompassing not just warriors and hunters, but also religious specialists.
The love song represents the peak of the canto's argument. Hiawatha has demonstrated that picture-writing can document history, commemorate the dead, and convey sacred knowledge — yet the love song illustrates that it can also capture our most intimate and irrational human experiences. Longfellow describes love as "more dangerous than war or hunting," and by providing it with such thorough exploration, he suggests that writing achieves its greatest purpose when it endeavors to articulate the most challenging emotions.
The poem uses trochaic tetrameter — eight syllables per line, with each pair beginning with a stressed syllable (DA-dum DA-dum DA-dum DA-dum). Longfellow drew this directly from the Finnish epic *Kalevala*. This repetition is purposeful: it reflects oral tradition, creating poetry that’s meant to be chanted or sung rather than quietly read. After a few stanzas, it begins to feel like a drumbeat, which is fitting for a poem about a culture rich in oral and musical traditions.
Yes, to a large extent. Longfellow primarily drew from Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an American ethnographer who recorded Ojibwe mnemonic pictographs used in Midewiwin ceremonies and songs. Some of the symbols Longfellow mentions — like the serpent representing evil, the inverted totem symbolizing death, and the use of birch bark — align with known Ojibwe visual traditions. However, it's important to note that Longfellow significantly simplified and romanticized the material.
When a clan totem is painted upside-down on a grave-post, it indicates that the person who carried that totem has died. The same symbol that represents a living person's identity is turned upside-down to signify their death. It’s a thoughtful convention: the image remains unchanged, but its orientation conveys everything you need to know.
Yes, and for good reasons. Longfellow was a white poet from New England who wrote about Indigenous people he had never actually encountered, relying on secondhand ethnographic sources that were influenced by a colonial perspective. The poem reduces many distinct Native nations into a single, idealized figure and portrays Indigenous culture as noble yet doomed — a typical theme of the 19th century. Modern readers and Indigenous scholars have noted that this kind of romanticization, no matter how well-intentioned, overlooks genuine complexity and supports a settler narrative about the disappearance of Native peoples.
Gitche Manito (also spelled Gitchi Manitou) is an Ojibwe term that refers to the Great Spirit or Master of Life — the ultimate creative force. Hiawatha represents it as an egg with four points stretching out toward the four cardinal directions, symbolizing the Great Spirit's presence everywhere at once. The egg also embodies the concept of origin and potential life, which aligns with that of a creator deity.