Grade 5: "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This narrative poem, written in a meter that recalls the sound of a galloping horse’s hooves, tells the apocryphal story of Paul Revere warning colonial Americans of a looming British invasion. Read the poem here.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    If the British march
    By land or sea from the town to-night,
    Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
    Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
  2. belfry
    a tower in which bells are hung
    If the British march
    By land or sea from the town to-night,
    Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
    Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
  3. muffled
    being or made softer or less loud or clear
    Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
    Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore
  4. stealthy
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
    By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread
  5. tread
    a step in walking or running
    Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
    By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread
  6. impetuous
    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought
    Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
    Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
    And turned and tightened his saddle girth
  7. girth
    a band around a horse's belly that holds the saddle in place
    Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
    Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
    And turned and tightened his saddle girth
  8. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    But mostly he watched with eager search
    The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
    As it rose above the graves on the hill,
    Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
  9. linger
    take one's time; proceed slowly
    He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
    But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
    A second lamp in the belfry burns.
  10. fleet
    moving very fast
    A hurry of hoofs in a village-street,
    A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
    And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
    Struck out by a steed that flies fearless and fleet
  11. kindle
    cause to start burning
    And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
    Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
  12. tranquil
    free from disturbance by heavy waves
    And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
    Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides
  13. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    He saw the gilded weathercock
    Swim in the moonlight as he passed
  14. aghast
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
    Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
    As if they already stood aghast
    At the bloody work they would look upon.
  15. defiance
    an act boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
    So through the night rode Paul Revere;
    And so through the night went his cry of alarm
    To every Middlesex village and farm,—
    A cry of defiance, and not of fear
Created on Fri Apr 03 17:10:35 EDT 2026 (updated Fri Apr 03 17:43:33 EDT 2026)

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