Adventures in Poetry - Series 11 - The Wreck of the Hesperus

Peggy Reynolds continues her Adventures in Poetry by asking why one of the most popular poems of the 19th century 'The Wreck of the Hesperus' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, has since fallen out of favour. The ballad of a reckless sea captain who takes his young daughter on a voyage despite warnings of an approaching storm, the poem was recited in parlours across the English speaking world, and learnt by every schoolchild in America for decades. Peggy explores the poem with Jay Parini, who has made a study of Longfellow; talks to the former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo; and to Linda Greenlaw, a sea captain who sails the same sea as the captain in the poem. With them, she uncovers the events in Longfellow's life which inspired the poem and discovers that it still retains the power to terrify and move its readers. Producer: Jane Greenwood.