The Poet and the Plagiarized Verse
A Tacoma man discovers his own lines in a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, sparking a debate over the poet's 'clipping' habits.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In Longfellow's 'Cobbler of Hagenau' there are some lines almost identical with those written by C. W. Hobart, of Tacoma, and entitled 'The Tide of Life.' Longfellow replied that it had been his custom for years to clip verse 'found floating,' presumably in newspapers. The lines were scribbled one dismal rainy day, while Mr. Hobart, then in his teens, was closeted in his room smarting under a severe reprimand administered by his father.
“Our egress from the world will be nobody knows where; But if we do well here we shall do well there.”
This story touches on early intellectual property debates and the 'remix culture' of the 19th century. The idea of a famous poet 'finding' lines in newspapers is a quaint reminder of how poetry traveled before the digital age, yet the sting of uncredited work remains a timeless grievance.
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