The Wreck of the Hesperus facts for kids
The Wreck of the Hesperus is a famous poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was first shared in 1842 as part of his book, Ballads and Other Poems. Longfellow got the idea for this poem from a terrible storm that happened in 1839. This storm was so strong that it wrecked 20 ships and sadly, 40 people lost their lives. One of the sad discoveries after the storm was a woman's body found in the ocean, still tied to a ship's mast.
The Story of the Hesperus
The poem tells the story of a proud captain who decides to take his young daughter with him on his ship, the Hesperus. A wise sailor on board warns the captain that a big storm is coming. However, the captain is too proud to listen to the warning.
Soon, the powerful storm hits the ship. To protect his daughter from being washed away by the huge waves, the captain ties her tightly to the ship's mast. As the storm rages, the daughter calls out to her father, who is dying. She can hear the crashing waves hitting the shore. She prays for the storm to calm down.
Tragically, the ship crashes onto a sharp reef and sinks into the sea. The next morning, a fisherman finds the daughter's body in the sea. She is still tied to the mast, a sad reminder of the terrible storm.
