The Ghosts

Quiz — "The Ghosts" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1. Recall – Form & Meter: What metrical form does Longfellow use in "The Ghosts," and which foreign national epic directly inspired this choice?

1. Recall – Context: "The Ghosts" is a canto from a longer narrative poem. Identify the larger work it belongs to, its canto number, and the year it was published.

1. Recall – Characters: Who are the two named figures living in Hiawatha's wigwam when the ghostly visitors arrive, and what is their relationship to Hiawatha?

1. Comprehension – Plot: Describe the behavior of the two ghostly women from the moment they enter the wigwam until Hiawatha finally speaks to them. What makes their conduct both rude and unsettling?

1. Comprehension – Turning Point: What prompts Hiawatha to break the long silence, and what do the ghosts reveal about their true purpose?

1. Comprehension – Symbols: What does the opening vulture simile communicate about the nature of sorrow, and how does it connect to the poem's broader treatment of grief?

1. Analysis – Symbolism: The firelight and the four nights of grave-fire are both associated with fire in the poem. Explain what each instance of fire symbolizes and how they together reinforce a central theme.

1. Analysis – Tone: How does Longfellow balance domesticity and eeriness in the poem's atmosphere? Refer to at least two specific scenes or images from the analysis in your answer.

1. Analysis – Theme: The ghosts test Hiawatha specifically on "patience and hospitality." What does this test suggest about the poem's theme regarding the obligations the living owe to the dead?

1. Analysis – Critical Perspective: The analysis notes that Longfellow based the poem on Ojibwe oral traditions but has been criticized for his portrayal. What is the nature of that criticism, and how might it affect a reader's interpretation of the poem's depiction of Indigenous spiritual beliefs?

Answer Key

1. Longfellow uses trochaic tetrameter, modeled directly after the Finnish national epic Kalevala, which he admired for its rhythmic, incantatory style.

1. It is Canto XX of The Song of Hiawatha, published in 1855.

1. Minnehaha (his wife, called "Laughing Water") and Nokomis (his grandmother) are in the wigwam when the ghosts arrive.

1. The two pale, haggard women enter without invitation or greeting and huddle in the darkest corner. They seize the finest portions of food meant for Minnehaha, retreat into the shadows without speaking, spend days motionless and nights silently gathering firewood, and weep at midnight — all without explaining themselves.

1. Hiawatha hears the ghosts weeping in the dark and gently asks whether his household has wronged them. In response, the ghosts reveal that they are spirits of the dead sent to test whether he would show genuine patience and hospitality toward the departed.

1. The vulture simile illustrates how sorrows accumulate: one misfortune attracts others, just as one circling vulture draws more. This connects to the poem's treatment of grief as something that compounds and overshadows a life unless properly addressed through ritual and generosity.

1. The firelight in the wigwam symbolizes warmth, life, and the bonds among the living. The four-night grave-fire the ghosts request symbolizes the soul's journey after death and the living's duty to ease that passage. Together, fire represents the connection between the living and the dead, and the ritual care that keeps grief from haunting both worlds.

1. Longfellow creates warmth through domestic details — hunters returning home, women grinding corn, firelight playing on Minnehaha's and Nokomis's faces — while the eeriness comes from the ghosts slipping in uninvited to the dark corners and weeping at midnight. Neither element dominates; the result is a solemn, reverent atmosphere rather than sentimentality or horror.

1. The test implies that true hospitality must extend beyond the living to include the dead. The poem suggests the living have a moral and spiritual obligation to honor, feed, and mourn the departed properly; failure to do so leaves souls restless, while genuine generosity ensures peace for both the living and the dead.

1. While Longfellow drew on Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's ethnographic studies of Ojibwe traditions, critics argue that his romanticized version oversimplifies the rich complexity of real Ojibwe life and spirituality. This may prompt readers to approach the poem's depiction of afterlife beliefs and mourning rituals as a literary and cultural interpretation rather than an accurate or authoritative representation of Ojibwe tradition.