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THE POETS' TRIBUTES TO LOWELL by James Russell Lowell

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This isn't a traditional poem; rather, it's a collection of poems and tributes from notable poets honoring James Russell Lowell, probably put together as an appendix or bibliographic note.

Poet
James Russell Lowell
Themes
art, friendship, home
The PoemFull text

THE POETS' TRIBUTES TO LOWELL

James Russell Lowell

Longfellow's _Herons of Elmwood_; Whittier's _A Welcome to Lowell_; Holmes's _Farewell to Lowell, At a Birthday Festival_, and _To James Russell Lowell_; Aldrich's _Elmwood_; Margaret J. Preston's _Home-Welcome to Lowell_; Richard Watson Gilder's _Lowell_; Christopher P. Cranch's _To J.R.L. on His Fiftieth Birthday_, and _To J.R.L. on His Homeward Voyage_; James Kenneth Stephen's _In Memoriam; James Russell Lowell_, "Lapsus Calami and Other Verses"; William W. Story's _To James Russell Lowell_, Blackwood's Magazine, Vol. 150; Eugene Field's _James Russell Lowell_; Edith Thomas's _On Reading Lowell's "Heartsease and Rue."_

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This isn't a traditional poem; rather, it's a collection of poems and tributes from notable poets honoring James Russell Lowell, probably put together as an appendix or bibliographic note. It highlights the deep admiration Lowell inspired among his literary contemporaries, with heavyweights like Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, and others taking the time to contribute their words in his name. You can think of it as a guest book filled with signatures from the greatest poets of 19th-century America.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Longfellow's _Herons of Elmwood_; Whittier's _A Welcome to Lowell_;

    Editor's note

    The list starts with two of the most renowned American poets of the time—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier. Longfellow's title refers to Elmwood, Lowell's family estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which became a lasting symbol of his identity and legacy. Whittier's tribute portrays Lowell's return from diplomatic service abroad as a significant homecoming deserving of celebration.

  2. Holmes's _Farewell to Lowell, At a Birthday Festival_, and _To James Russell Lowell_;

    Editor's note

    Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., who was a physician, a witty individual, and a poet, made two contributions. The poem for the birthday festival embodies the typical 19th-century tradition of celebrating poets during significant milestones — Lowell's fiftieth birthday was a noteworthy literary occasion. Holmes's two contributions highlight the strong and lasting friendship between the two men.

  3. Aldrich's _Elmwood_; Margaret J. Preston's _Home-Welcome to Lowell_;

    Editor's note

    Thomas Bailey Aldrich, editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and Southern poet Margaret J. Preston both explore the theme of homecoming. It's particularly interesting that Preston, a Southern writer, honors a New England poet, highlighting Lowell's reputation as it transcended regional divides in post-Civil War America.

  4. Richard Watson Gilder's _Lowell_; Christopher P. Cranch's _To J.R.L. on His Fiftieth Birthday_, and _To J.R.L. on His Homeward Voyage_;

    Editor's note

    Gilder, who was the editor of The Century Magazine and a notable literary figure during the Gilded Age, provides a straightforward tribute that carries his name. Cranch, a Transcendentalist poet and painter, captures two significant moments in Lowell's life — his birthday and a journey back by sea — illustrating how Lowell's achievements were celebrated as public literary events.

  5. James Kenneth Stephen's _In Memoriam; James Russell Lowell_, "Lapsus Calami and Other Verses";

    Editor's note

    Stephen's elegy, found in his collection *Lapsus Calami*, transitions from a tone of celebration to one of mourning. This *In Memoriam* poem indicates that Lowell had passed away by the time this tribute was penned, dating it to after 1891. Stephen, a poet and wit from Cambridge (England), illustrates that Lowell's reputation was well-established on both sides of the Atlantic.

  6. William W. Story's _To James Russell Lowell_, Blackwood's Magazine, Vol. 150;

    Editor's note

    William Wetmore Story was an American sculptor and poet who lived mainly in Rome. His tribute published in *Blackwood's Magazine*, a respected British journal, highlights how Lowell was seen as an international literary figure, not just a local American one.

  7. Eugene Field's _James Russell Lowell_; Edith Thomas's _On Reading Lowell's "Heartsease and Rue."_

    Editor's note

    The list wraps up with Eugene Field, famous for his sentimental poetry, and Edith Thomas, a lyric poet who earned praise from her contemporaries. Thomas's tribute stands out for its literary approach — instead of reacting to Lowell as a person, she focuses on a particular book of his poems, *Heartsease and Rue* (1888). This makes her piece a poem-about-a-poem, providing a thoughtful and self-aware conclusion to the collection.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone here is respectful and documentary. There’s no lyrical voice or emotional journey — it’s a straightforward list, and it feels like one. Yet beneath this simple bibliographic surface lies something quietly poignant: a community of writers picking up their pens each time one of their own achieves a milestone or passes away. The overall impact is one of warmth, admiration, and a shared literary bond.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Elmwood
Lowell's family home in Cambridge, Massachusetts shows up in several works, like Longfellow's *Herons of Elmwood* and Aldrich's *Elmwood*. It symbolizes Lowell's connection to his roots, his New England identity, and the notion that a poet is deeply tied to their surroundings.
The homecoming
Several tributes depict Lowell's return from his diplomatic posts in Spain and England as a homecoming — Preston's *Home-Welcome*, Whittier's *A Welcome*, Cranch's *Homeward Voyage*. This return symbolizes the poet's connection to his people, emphasizing that he belongs to them rather than just to foreign courts.
The birthday
Holmes and Cranch both celebrate Lowell's fiftieth birthday as a special poetic event. In the literary culture of the 19th century, a poet's milestone birthday was almost like a public holiday — the birthday poem serves as a symbol of shared appreciation for a life dedicated to literature.
In Memoriam
Stephen's elegy title references Tennyson's profound grief poem, giving Lowell's death a significance that ties it to the revered tradition of English-language mourning poetry. This phrase indicates that a prominent figure has died, and it's time for the literary community to mourn officially.

§06Historical context

Historical context

James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was a key figure in 19th-century American literature—he was a poet, critic, editor of The Atlantic Monthly, a Harvard professor, and even served as U.S. Ambassador to Spain and later Britain. By the time he turned fifty in 1869, he had become a national institution, and when he passed away in 1891, it sparked a wave of tributes. These remembrances highlight the close-knit American literary scene in Boston and Cambridge, where poets were not just colleagues but friends, celebrating each other's accomplishments in poetry. The presence of tributes from British sources and a Southern poet illustrates that, although Lowell's roots were in New England, his influence had truly spread across the nation and even overseas by the end of his life.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

It's a bibliographic list — a catalog of poems written *about* Lowell by various poets. This list was probably put together as an appendix or reference note in a collection of Lowell's works or a critical study of his life. It lacks meter, rhyme, and a lyric speaker. Instead of being literary in the traditional sense, its value lies in its historical and documentary significance.

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