Response for "The Slave's Dream" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland,Maine on February 27,1807.At fifteen years old he enrolled at Bowdoin College where he later found out that he wanted to be a writer.After the death of his first wife, he began to write poems that dealed with German romanticism. Longfellow also wrote poems on slavery and one of them happens to be "The Slave's Dream". A slave who hopes for freedom in side of a dream filled with excitement and anticipation ending in a tragic situation.
And then at furious speed he rode, at each leap he could feel his scabbard steel smiting his stallion's flank(Longfellow,"The Slave's Dream).Here the slave is riding a horse in the wind. He feels no sympathy toward the horse as he feels he has the power like his slavemaster;beating on an innocent victim that is doing work for himself. Some similies were used in this poem to solidify the feelings of the slave. Like a blood-red flag, the bright flamingoes flew; from morn till night he followed their flight(Longfellow,"The Slave's Dream"). This simile talks about the flamingoes relating to his experience in his everyday flying in the sky. He enjoys flying with them so much because it reminds him of freedom that he flys all day long.
Longfellow creates imagery with the trees, horses, the Niger bank, mountains, flamingoes flying, lions roaring,hyenas screaming. All of this gives the reader a chance to actually feel,taste and dream what is going on. In one of the stanzas the slave talks about his queen and the children following. Freedom comes to play because in slavery, it was impossible for a family to work together on the same plantation. His dreams that his children come and kiss him on his cheek and squeeze his hand was freedom toward his social life. At night he heard the lion roar, and the hyena scream, and the river-horse as he crushed the reeds(Longfellow). In the dream while he was lying beside the bank, the night sounds were probably sounds that the slave wanted to hear because of his confinement to yelling, sounds of whips all day long. Sounds of things we might think are scary and dangerous are most likely very interesting to him.
At the end of the poem, the slave dies when the poem says " For death had illumined the Land of Sleep". Thos might mean that from all of this dreaming or from him resting, a slavemaster could have killed him because he felt he was being lazy. Another can conclude that the slave was already dying and this dream was a peaceful thought he wants to stay with him forever.
Longfellow did a great job on leaving his reader's asking questions at the end and giving a sense of feeling and seeing what the picture he was trying to create. This poem makes me appreciate the freedom i have in my life and that a dream like this does not occur in my mind. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had a good life and with this poem he has brought to my attention how great life is today in terms of freedom and rights.