This collection, published in 1842, vividly describes the predicament of slavery. It makes a case of natural philosophy of why slavery is immoral. Works like Longfellow's began to sway the northern U.S. towards the the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery (through the bloody carnage of the Civil War, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution).

What I find most appealing in the poems in this collection is how Longfellow makes a case that is relatively devoid of the notion of God. He simply dwells, ever-compassionately, upon the human predicament of the slaves. They are not able to reach their dreams; they are surrounded by an environment designed to belittle their self-esteem; they cannot possess a notion of "home;" they are denied identities; they are less free than even "wild" animals.

We live in similar - albeit more muted - bounds in twenty-first-century Western society. Women are still sold into sexual slavery; addiction to drugs still powerfully entraps many; refugees and forced migration still holds too many within its grasp. With different images, Longfellow's profound way with words can be applied to our situation. I'm glad the battle over systemic slavery is over and won. Nonetheless, the path forward is still arduous, and the victory is not complete. ( )