Pretvaranje nevažnog istorijskog događaja u poznatu pesmu: Longfelouovo "Jahanje Pola Rivira"
The Transformation Of A Minor Event Into A Major Poem: Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride"

Summary/Abstract: The essay delves into the process of creating an American icon of Paul Revere by examining how was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, nation's beloved poet, able to use historic facts while writing his much lauded poem "Paul Revere's Ride". The starting point is the examination of sheer facts: Revere's biography and the ride itself. Next we turn to the poem, its setting, and Longfellow's intention in writing it, as well as the events that followed its publication. This includes separating facts from fiction, i.e. drawing a clear line between literary invention and reality, in order to gain a unique insight into the process of mythmaking. Having scrutinized this dichotomy, the focus shifts toward the poet's intentions and reasons for such an alternation of the truth, and to what effect. Finally, the essay explores the poem's longevity in present-day America.

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