“Larger the shadows”: Longfellow’s Translation of Virgil’s Eclogue 1

“Larger the shadows” takes a close look at Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s translation of Virgil’s “Eclogue 1” (1870), a poem that reflected his experience of change, both in himself and around him in his physical environment. A relentless foreignizer as a translator, Longfellow nevertheless found in Virgil a familiar, modern commitment to preserving “green” spaces. Translating Virgil, Longfellow recognized facets of himself in Virgil’s characters: he was both Tityrus, reclining in the shade, warbling inconsequential little tunes on his reed, as well as Meliboeus, haunted by nightmares of the impending loss of his semi-rural locus amoenus (notably contemporary efforts to open up the banks of the Charles River for development). The essay also offers a review of previous translations of Eclogue 1 and editions of Virgil used by Longfellow.