Upsall by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Nicholas Upsall (c. 1590–1666) was an innkeeper in Boston and one of the first colonists to openly challenge the Puritan authorities' persecution of Quakers. He faced fines, had his property taken away, and was ultimately banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for providing shelter to Quakers and protesting their executions. Longfellow portrayed him as the moral center of this dramatic poem.

The term "Gospellers" was used by Puritans in a derogatory way to refer to religious enthusiasts they deemed chaotic. By using this term for pigeons, Longfellow illustrates how Merry's instinct to persecute is so deep-rooted that he extends it to animals. The comparison to Quakers serves as the punchline: Quakers faced severe oppression in Puritan Boston, so likening them to cooing birds highlights the absurdity and brutality of that persecution.

It begins with a lyrical prologue, where an unnamed voice contemplates the essence of the Sabbath. Then, it transitions into a dramatic scene as Walter Merry steps in as a speaking character, complete with stage directions. This blend of lyrical and dramatic styles is typical of Longfellow's New England Tragedies, which are crafted for both reading and performance.

He is clearly critical of them. The opening stanza presents an ideal — a day of rest and light — but the rest of the excerpt reveals what the Puritans actually made of it: a graveyard silence maintained by a man who throws stones at birds. Longfellow doesn’t lecture; he simply lets Merry speak and trusts the reader to recognize the gap between piety and cruelty.

Both. New England Tragedies was released as a reading text, and Longfellow was aware that it probably wouldn't be performed on stage. However, the stage directions and dialogue format infuse it with theatrical energy. The scene featuring Merry and the pigeons stands out as particularly effective for performance because the physical comedy—a man throwing a stone at birds on the Sabbath—highlights his self-righteousness in a way that simple narration can't achieve.

Merry uses the term to describe the town's stubborn resistance to authority before he brought it into line. It's a legal and ecclesiastical term that reflects his mindset; he often thinks in terms of punishment and enforcement, even when discussing his neighbors.

Longfellow often drew on American history for moral lessons — The Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere's Ride, and Evangeline all reflect the values he valued in his own era. Upsall follows this trend: it references the Puritan era to advocate for religious tolerance and warns against mixing law with personal conscience.

The phrase highlights the inversion that Longfellow is pointing out: a day meant to liberate people from work and stress has instead become one of fear and limitation. "Dungeon" carries a heavy connotation — it suggests confinement, darkness, and punishment. The speaker suggests that human inflexibility has transformed what was intended as a gift into a prison.