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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A Yankee farmer takes up his pen, and war, slavery, and learned pretension come under fire.
In The Biglow Papers, James Russell Lowell gives political anger a comic voice. Hosea Biglow, a young farmer from the invented Massachusetts village of Jaalam, writes verse in rural New England speech. Beside him stands Parson Homer Wilbur, a fussy minister whose letters, introductions, and wandering notes make a comedy around the poems.
The first series attacks the war with Mexico and slavery; the second answers the Civil War. Across both, Lowell turns spoken language into rhyme and argument. Dropped endings, unusual spellings, and local phrases shape the sound. These poems stay close to the disputes of their time, mixing pointed jokes with questions about war and slavery.
What you’ll discover
- A farmer's sharp voice Meet Hosea Biglow, whose rural speech carries Lowell's comic and political verse.
- A minister's comic detours Follow Parson Wilbur through learned introductions and notes that wander far from the point.
- The first series Explore verse that attacks the Mexican War and slavery through an invented farmer's voice.
- The Civil War poems Read the second series as Lowell turns his political verse toward the Civil War.
- Language with local roots Hear how New England turns of phrase make dialect both a joke and an argument.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love satire, political wit and the sound of regional speech, and anyone curious about American argument over war and slavery in the 1840s.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A farmer answers war with verse
- Different voices sharpen the same argument
- Soldiering strips away the recruiting promise
- Loyalty needs a conscience
- A nursery rhyme exposes the Senate
- A public creed reveals private interest
- A candidate makes evasion sound frank
- Glory hides the common soldier's cost
- Hypocrisy condemns itself by speaking
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The Biglow Papers
by James Russell Lowell · 1848
A Massachusetts farmer turns a recruiting sergeant's drum into verse that mocks the Mexican War.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What does a farmer do after he watches a recruiting sergeant strut through Boston, with a drum and a fife and feathers on his hat? In The Biglow Papers, young Hosea Biglow goes home angry, thrashes about all night, and writes a poem.
The Biglow Papers at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 35 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 37,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1848by James Russell Lowell
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Three voices carry the whole book
The book is built from voices. Hosea Biglow is a young farmer in Jaalam, a Massachusetts town, who writes verse in the speech he hears every day. His father, Ezekiel, introduces the first poem in a letter full of homespun spelling. Over them both stands Homer Wilbur, the village minister, who claims the title of editor.
Wilbur is the comic frame. He loads the volume with a grand title page, a long introduction, and notes crammed with Latin and Greek. He is vain, kindly, and fond of wandering from the point. Yet his notes also hold some of the book's most earnest thoughts on war and conscience. Before the poems begin, he prints invented press notices, so Lowell laughs at critics before any critic can speak.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1848
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Lowell, James Russell. The Biglow Papers. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-biglow-papers.
Lowell, J. R. (2026). The Biglow papers. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-biglow-papers (Original work published 1848)
Lowell, James Russell. The Biglow Papers. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-biglow-papers.
@book{lowell2026biglow,
author = {Lowell, James Russell},
title = {The Biglow Papers},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-biglow-papers},
note = {First published 1848}
}
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What is The Biglow Papers about?
It is a set of satirical poems and prose notes written during the Mexican War. A farmer poet named Hosea Biglow attacks war, slavery and political hypocrisy, while his minister Homer Wilbur adds comic and serious commentary.
Who are Hosea Biglow, Homer Wilbur and Birdofredom Sawin?
Hosea Biglow is a young farmer poet in Jaalam, Massachusetts. Homer Wilbur is the learned village minister who edits his verses. Birdofredom Sawin is a neighbour who enlists and writes letters home from the war.
Why is it written in Yankee dialect?
Lowell grew up in the countryside and found the speech of rural New England natural and expressive. The spelling follows the sound of the voice, so reading the poems aloud makes them clear and lively.
The author
James Russell Lowell
1819–1891 · American poet and critic
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was an American poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He was born and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He published The Biglow Papers in 1848, with a second series in 1867. He taught at Harvard University and served as an American diplomat in Spain and Britain.
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