Paul Revere's Ride (1860) is a poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775, although with significant inaccuracies. It was first published in the January 1861 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. It was later retitled The Landlord's Tale in the collection Tales of a Wayside Inn.
Longfellow's poem is credited with creating the national legend of Paul Revere, a previously little-known Massachusetts silversmith. Upon Revere's death in 1818, for example, his obituary did not mention his midnight ride but instead focused on his business sense and his many friends. The fame that Longfellow brought to Revere, however, did not materialize until after the Civil War amidst the Colonial Revival Movement of the 1870s. In 1875, for example, the Old North Church mentioned in the poem began an annual custom called the "lantern ceremony", recreating the action of the poem. Three years later, the Church added a plaque noting it as the site of "the signal lanterns of Paul Revere". Revere's elevated historical importance also led to unsubstantiated rumors that he made a set of false teeth for George Washington. Revere's legendary status continued for decades and, in part due to Longfellow's poem, authentic silverware made by Revere commanded high prices. Wall Street tycoon J. P. Morgan, for example, offered $100,000 for a punch bowl Revere made.
In Longfellow's poem Paul Revere's Ride, Paul Revere was recognized for his act of heroism during Revolutionary times. In this well-known poem, Longfellow describes how Paul Revere made a nighttime ride on horseback. The purpose of this famous ride was to warn the Concord militia that the British were planning to attack.
However, Longfellow's poem does not recount the historical events accurately. Modern critics of the poem also emphasize its many historical inaccuracies. For example, the poem depicts the lantern signal in the Old North Church as meant for Revere, but actually the signal was from Revere: the historical Paul Revere did not receive the lantern signal, but actually was the one who ordered it to be set up. The poem also depicts Revere rowing himself across the Charles River when, in reality, he was rowed over by others. He also did not reach Concord that night. Other inaccuracies include a general lengthening of the time frame of the night's events and the fact that in reality, Paul Revere did not travel alone on his important ride. Instead, he met up with William Dawes in Lexington. These two set out for Concord with a Dr. Samuel Prescott, who was on his way home.
[A] On the way between Lexington and Concord, the three were stopped by some British soldiers. [B] Revere became a prisoner of the British, and Dawes managed to escape. [C] It was Dr. Prescott rather than Paul Revere who got through to Concord to warn the militia of the British attack that was coming. [D] However, it was Paul Revere and not Dr. Prescott who received the credit for the heroic deed in Longfellow's poem.
1. The passage is mainly about
2. The word "significant" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
3. The word "it" in paragraph 2 refers to
4. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 3?
5. The word "he" in paragraph 4 refers to
6. The phrase "set out for" in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by
7. The word "way" in paragraph 5 could best be replaced by
8. The word "militia" in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to
9. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 5?
10. In which space (marked [A], [B], [C] and [D] in the passage) will the following sentence fit? “Dr. Prescott was the only one who continued on his way.”