The Quadroon Girl by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A planter accepts a slave trader’s gold for a mixed-race maiden despite his inner struggle over their blood relationship. The girl turns pale, and the trader leads her away to become his slave and paramour in a distant land.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Abolitionist Literature, Ballad · 446 words
First lines
The Slaver in the broad lagoon / Lay moored with idle sail; / He waited for the rising moon, / And for the evening gale.
Under the shore his boat was tied, / And all her listless crew / Watched the gray alligator slide / Into the still bayou.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The verse follows a slave trader’s visit, a planter’s decision to accept gold, and the maiden’s removal.
- Abolitionist Literature — The narrator condemns the proceeds as accursed and shows a blood relationship yielding to the sale of a girl into slavery and sexual exploitation.
- Ballad — Rhyming four-line stanzas tell a compact story through dialogue, a moral conflict, and a final act of betrayal.
Tags
slavery · slave trade · sexual exploitation · mixed-race identity · family betrayal
What this Textopian page supports
The Quadroon Girl 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, Abolitionist Literature, Ballad
- Length: 446 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Quadroon Girl by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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