The Phantom Ship by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Retelling a legend from Mather's Magnalia Christi in verse, the narrator describes a ship leaving New Haven despite Master Lamberton's fears about its seaworthiness. After months without news, residents see its likeness approach against the wind, lose its masts and sails, and vanish. They interpret the apparition as revealing the vessel's tragic end, and their pastor thanks God for answering their prayers.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Ballad, Supernatural · 484 words
First lines
In Mather's Magnalia Christi, / Of the old colonial time, / May be found in prose the legend / That is here set down in rhyme.
A ship sailed from New Haven, / And the keen and frosty airs, / That filled her sails at parting, / Were heavy with good men's prayers.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhymed stanzas recount a ship's departure, the community's unanswered search for news, and the appearance and disappearance of its likeness.
- Ballad — Four-line stanzas with recurring rhyme tell a maritime legend through successive events and brief passages of speech.
- Supernatural — The missing vessel's likeness sails against the wind, breaks apart, and vanishes; the pastor calls it a Ship of Air sent by God.
Tags
ghost ships · maritime legends · New Haven · apparitions · prayer · missing ships
What this Textopian page supports
The Phantom Ship is listed on Textopian as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Ballad, Supernatural
- Length: 484 words
- Structure: 1 section, 13 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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