Longfellow was a popular 19th c. American poet. He wrote some of the most popular poems in American literature and his works created a new body of romantic American legends. In preparation for professorships, he traveled to Europe twice to study languages. His works were immensely popular during his lifetime and remain so, despite critics’ complaints that they are simple, sentimental, and moralizing. As a teenager, Longfellow began a lifelong friendship with what other famous American novelist? Discuss