The Son of the Evening Star

Quiz — "The Son of the Evening Star" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1. Recall – Form & Context: From which larger work is "The Son of the Evening Star" taken, and what is the narrative frame through which the story is delivered?

1. Recall – Speaker & Setting: Who tells the legend of Osseo, and what occasion prompts the telling of the tale?

1. Recall – Key Image: What celestial object does Iagoo notice that signals him to begin his story, and how is it described in spiritual terms early in the poem?

1. Comprehension – Character Contrast: How does Oweenee's choice of husband differ from the choices made by her nine older sisters, and what does this contrast reveal about her character?

1. Comprehension – The Hollow Oak: What happens when Osseo passes through the hollow oak trunk, and what is the immediate consequence for Oweenee?

1. Comprehension – Parallel Love: How does Osseo's behavior toward Oweenee after his transformation mirror her earlier devotion to him, and why is this parallel significant to the poem's central theme?

1. Analysis – Symbolism: What does the hollow, decaying oak trunk symbolize, and how does this symbol connect to the poem's broader theme of inner versus outer beauty?

1. Analysis – The Sisters as Birds: Why are the nine sisters and their husbands transformed into birds, and what do birds symbolize in the context of this poem?

1. Analysis – Tone Shift: How does the tone of the poem shift in its closing moments, when the wedding guests respond to Iagoo's conclusion, and what effect does this tonal shift create?

1. Analysis – Historical Context: Longfellow drew heavily on Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's ethnographic writings for his source material. How does this context complicate modern readings of The Song of Hiawatha as a representation of Native American traditions?

Answer Key

1. It is a chapter from Longfellow's epic The Song of Hiawatha; the story is delivered as a tale told by the storyteller Iagoo during Hiawatha's wedding feast, giving it an oral, communal quality.

1. Iagoo, a renowned storyteller within the Hiawatha cycle, tells the legend. The occasion is Hiawatha's wedding feast, where Iagoo notices the Evening Star and takes it as his cue to begin.

1. Iagoo notices the Evening Star (Venus) shining in the twilight sky. It is described as a bead of wampum on the Great Spirit's robe, investing it with deep spiritual significance from the outset.

1. The nine older sisters all marry strong, proud, conventionally desirable men. Oweenee instead marries Osseo — old, poor, unattractive, and frail — because she perceives the inner spirit within him. This marks her as uniquely insightful and positions her as the moral center of the poem.

1. When Osseo enters one end of the hollow oak, he emerges from the other as his true self: a young, tall, handsome man. The cost, however, is that Oweenee immediately becomes a hunched, aged old woman in exchange.

1. Just as Oweenee stayed by Osseo when he was old and mocked, Osseo slows down, takes Oweenee's frail hand, and speaks tenderly to her throughout the journey to the feast. The parallel demonstrates that true love looks past physical appearance and remains constant regardless of outward form.

1. The hollow, decaying oak represents the boundary between a cursed exterior and a true inner self. Its apparent deadness and worthlessness mirror Osseo's outward appearance, reinforcing the poem's central argument that what looks ruined or valueless on the outside may contain something precious within.

1. The sisters are transformed into birds as punishment for mocking Osseo without understanding him. In the poem, birds symbolize those who are all surface — bright plumage and pleasant song — but lack spiritual depth or the capacity for genuine understanding.

1. After Iagoo delivers his moral warning, the wedding guests laugh and speculate that Iagoo might be referring to himself. This wry, self-aware moment introduces a tone of gentle humor and irony, undercutting any preachiness and grounding the grand legend back in the warmth of human social life.

1. Although Longfellow's poem introduced many readers to Ojibwe mythological figures and drew on Schoolcraft's documented oral traditions, modern scholars note that Longfellow filtered these traditions through a Romantic, European lens. This raises questions about cultural authenticity, representation, and whether the poem reflects Ojibwe worldviews accurately or reshapes them to fit 19th-century American literary tastes.