Excelsior (Longfellow)
Encyclopedia
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
. The famous Sam Loyd chess problem, Excelsior
Excelsior (chess problem)
"Excelsior" is one of Sam Loyd's most famous chess problems, originally published in London Era in 1861, named after the poem "Excelsior" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Loyd had a friend who was willing to wager that he could always find the piece which delivered the principal mate of a chess problem...
, was named after this poem.
The poem describes a young man passing through a town bearing the banner "Excelsior" (translated from Latin as "ever higher", also loosely but more widely as "onward and upward"), ignoring all warnings, climbing higher until inevitably, "lifeless, but beautiful" he is found by the "faithful hound" half-buried in the snow, "still clasping in his hands of ice that banner with the strange device, Excelsior!"
The poem was a staple of American readers for many years, and A Plea for Old Cap Collier by Irvin S. Cobb
Irvin S. Cobb
Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb was an American author, humorist, and columnist who lived in New York and authored more than 60 books and 300 short stories.-Biography:...
, satirized it. His description is partly based on an illustration used in the readers. The words quoted are Longfellow's:
- The shades of night were falling fast,
- As through an Alpine village passed
- A youth, who bore, 'mid snow and ice,
- A banner with the strange device,
- Excelsior!
The title of Excelsior was reportedly inspired by the state seal of New York
Seal of New York
The state seal of New York features the state arms surrounded by the words "The Great Seal of the State of New York." A banner below shows the New York State motto ....
, which bears the Latin motto Excelsior. Longfellow had seen it earlier on a scrap of newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. Longfellow's first draft, now in the Harvard University Library, notes that he finished the poem at three o'clock in the morning on September 28, 1841.
"Excelsior" was printed in Supplement to the Courant, Connecticut Courant, vol. VII no. 2, January 22, 1841.
James Thurber
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
(1894–1961) illustrated the poem in The Thurber Carnival in 1945.
There is a Lancashire version or parody, Uppards, written by Marriott Edgar
Marriott Edgar
Marriott Edgar , born George Marriot Edgar in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, was a poet, scriptwriter and comedian best known for writing many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway, particularly the 'Albert' series....
one hundred years later in 1941.
The poem was set to music as a duet for tenor and baritone by the Irish composer Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe was an Irish composer, best-remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl.After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed 38 operas, almost 250 songs and other works...
, and was a staple of Victorian and Edwardian drawing rooms.
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
alludes to Longfellow's poem in the title song of the musical On Your Toes
On Your Toes
On Your Toes is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939....
.
"Excelsior" also became a trade name for wood shavings used as packing material or furniture stuffing. In Bullwinkle's Corner, Bullwinkle the Moose parodies the poem in Season 2 Episode 18 (1960-61) of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
:
- The answer came both quick and blunt:
- It's just a advertising stunt.
- I represent Smith, Jones, & Jakes,
- A lumber company that makes...
- Excelsior!
The poem is the base for the motto of Wynberg Allen School
Wynberg Allen School
Wynberg-Allen School was founded in 1888. It is located in the hills near Kulri, Mussoorie, India.- Historical Note :From a meeting in Kanpur in 1887 of friends, Mr. Powell, Mr. and Mrs. Foy and Brig. Condon, who became the Founders, came the first school at Jabarkhet along the Tehri road. This...
in Mussorie, India
External links
- http://www.bartleby.com/102/62.html Thomas R. Lounsbury, ed. (1838–1915). Yale Book of American Verse. 1912.
- http://www.archive.org/stream/pleaoldcap00cobbrich/pleaoldcap00cobbrich_djvu.txt Cobb, Irvin S., "A Plea for Old Cap Collier," George H. Doran Company, New York. 1921 (see 40-49) Clean copy, PDF, pp. 40-50
- http://www.lorenzhart.org/toessng.htm "On Your Toes," lyrics by Lorenz Hart, 1936.