The first American: In a prose article, Lowell calls him "The by James Russell Lowell: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This poem by James Russell Lowell honors Abraham Lincoln as the most genuinely American figure the nation has ever known.
The poem
American of Americans." Compare Tennyson's "The last great Englishman," in the _Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington_. Stanza IV of Tennyson's ode should be compared with this Lincoln stanza.
This poem by James Russell Lowell honors Abraham Lincoln as the most genuinely American figure the nation has ever known. Lowell views Lincoln not as a refined politician molded by tradition, but as a person who emerged organically from the American landscape and its people. By comparing him to Tennyson's elegy for the Duke of Wellington, Lowell positions Lincoln among the greatest national heroes of the English-speaking world.
Line-by-line
The first American...
Tone & mood
Reverent and proud, with a quiet confidence. Lowell isn't mourning dramatically; he's making a strong, thoughtful assertion about Lincoln's role in history. The tone resembles a toast delivered by someone who has reflected deeply on their message and truly believes in every word.
Symbols & metaphors
- The first American — Lincoln embodies a new type of individual — democratic, self-made, and grounded in the common people rather than in inherited privilege or European culture.
- Tennyson's "last great Englishman" — The comparison to Wellington positions Lincoln as America's counterpart to a national hero: the person who best represents the country's values and identity during a crucial time in history.
- The Lincoln stanza — By directing readers to a particular stanza in Tennyson's ode, Lowell suggests that Lincoln merits the same kind of dignified, formal tribute in literature that England awarded its most celebrated military hero.
Historical context
James Russell Lowell wrote this piece in the years after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865. Lowell, a professor at Harvard, an abolitionist, and one of America’s leading literary figures, had closely followed Lincoln during the Civil War. Although he initially doubted Lincoln's polish and political acumen, he eventually came to see him as a man of remarkable moral insight and genuine American spirit. The comparison to Tennyson's *Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington* (1852) is intentional and bold: Tennyson was England's Poet Laureate, and his ode set the standard for national elegies. By likening Lincoln to Wellington, Lowell suggests that America now had its own founding hero deserving of similar literary and historical significance. This piece exists at the crossroads of elegy, national myth-making, and literary critique.
FAQ
He means Lincoln was the first person to truly embody the American democratic ideal — someone shaped completely by the frontier, the common people, and the self-made spirit of the nation, without any ties to European aristocratic tradition or inherited social status.
Tennyson's *Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington* was the most renowned national elegy in the English language during that period. By making this comparison, Lowell suggests that Lincoln merits a similar kind of meaningful, lasting tribute that England offered to its greatest hero.
Tennyson referred to the Duke of Wellington—the general who defeated Napoleon—as the last symbol of a particular type of enduring English greatness. In contrast, Lowell turns this idea on its head: Lincoln isn't the *last* of anything; he's the *first* of a new era.
Stanza IV of Tennyson's ode is where the poet most directly captures Wellington's character — his straightforwardness, his resilience, and his absence of vanity. Lowell recognizes those same traits in Lincoln and encourages readers to draw the connection themselves.
Not initially. Like many intellectuals in New England, Lowell viewed Lincoln as too rough, too slow, and too politically cautious at the start of the war. However, he eventually recognized Lincoln's straightforwardness and patience as true virtues instead of shortcomings.
It sits in between. The text preserved here feels more like an annotated fragment or a prose-poem note, where Lowell encourages readers to compare his tribute to Lincoln with Tennyson's ode. This showcases Lowell's tendency to mix literary criticism with his own creative writing.
At its core, this piece explores identity—what it means to be American—and how nations remember their most significant figures. It also reflects on death and mortality, using an elegiac tone inspired by Tennyson.
The Duke of Wellington, known for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, later became Prime Minister of Britain. Upon his death in 1852, Tennyson, serving as Poet Laureate, composed a formal ode to honor the national mourning, which went on to become one of the most celebrated poems of the Victorian era.