The Famous Ride of Paul Revere Paul Revere is known for his famous ride through Charlestown, Virginia on April eighteenth, 1775 at midnight. There are many stories that have been published about this famous ride, but many are inaccurate. “Paul Revere’s Ride,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is not a credible source of information because Revere does not do the same things within these two pieces of literature, the British’s actions are not the same in the poem and the letter, and Revere is not alone on this famous night. Longfellow does not match his poem up with the true actions of Paul Revere. According to Longfellow’s poem, Revere waits for a signal; whereas, the letter Revere wrote to his friend says that he goes home to wait. “I then went Home…,” (Gilder Lehrman 1). The letter states that Revere rides a boat; however, a boat is not mentioned within Longfellow’s poem. “I told them what was Acting, and went to git me a Horse,” (Gilder Lehrman 2). Near the end of the …show more content…
One cannot deny that the poem has facts about this famous ride. However, these few facts are not in comparison to the false statements. Paul Revere’s letter, in addition to many others, is a true source of information. Thus, Longfellow’s poem is not a credible source of information. To summarize, Longfellow’s poem is not a credible source of information. Revere’s actions are not the same, the British army does not act in the same way for both writings, and the poem excludes Revere’s friends. Longfellow dramatized his poem by making it sound dreary and more challenging than needed. The author should do more research about Paul Revere’s ride because many statements within the poem are false. If Revere had not been asked to ride into Lexington, the British would most likely have overpowered the Americans. America would be a completely different place without this famous