THE POET LONGFELLOW AND HIS IMPACT IN CHILE AND LATIN AMERICA

Abstract

This essay seeks to explain the reasons why the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had an important influence on many Latin American countries during the nineteenth century. This paper suggests that Longfellow’s emphasis on the creation of national traditions, using poetry as a vehicle, became a model for various Latin American authors in their own efforts to build a sense of identity and nationality. The essay examines the reception of Longfellow’s work by several writers, including the Chilean historian José Toribio Medina, who translated Longfellow’s Evangeline