...eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
April 18, 1775... one day before the fighting broke out at Lexington
and the Revolutionary War began.
...his friend:
his friend was Robert Newman,, who had the keys to the North Church,
and lived right across the street from the church
...Hang a lantern aloft:
hang it up high where it can be seen
...belfry-arch:
the highest part of the steeple where the bell is hung
...opposite shore:
Paul would wait across the river in Charlestown where he could
look back and see the lights.
...Middlesex village and farm:
Middlesex is the name of the county area surrounding
Boston
...belfry-chamber: the
highest place in the church steeple where the bell is hung
...lay the dead...: He
is looking over a cemetery and imagining that the night wind is
a guard's footsteps ("sentinel's tread")
...All is well!:
He also imagines the night wind saying "All is well!"
The mood is very eerie..
...somber rafters: boards
and beams that make scary (somber) shadows in the moonlight
...boats on the shore:
Now he knows the British are using the water route!
...grenadiers:
British soldiers who fired the cannons and other heavy guns
...A line of black...like a bridge
of boats: He sees the British soldiers rowing their
boats across the water.
...The muster of men at the barrack-door:
...the sound of the British soldiers getting ready
to leave.
...heavy stride: strong
footsteps
...bridle: leather
straps connected to the horse's head
...The fate of a nation was riding
that night: The future of the United States was
being made!
...steed: a fast
horse
...saddle-girth: strap
that holds the saddle on his horse
...alders: trees
that often grow next to water
...gilded weathercock: a
gold-colored ("gilded") weather vane in the shape of
a rooster ("cock")
...And one was safe and asleep
in his bed...Who at the bridge would be first to fall,: Some
unknown person, safe asleep, would be the first to die the next
day.
...musket-ball: an
old-fashioned bullet
...defiance: bravery
in fighting against something
...red-coats: British
soldiers
...ball for ball:
bullet for bullet, firing back and forth
...British regulars: the
British soldiers
...bleating of the flock: sheep
ba-a-ing
...aghast At the bloody work...:
horrified at what was going to happen the next
day
...spectral glare:
the ghostly look of the dark windows
...Mystic: the
Mystic River.... Paul Revere rides alongside this river.
...Kindled the land into flame
with its heat.: Longfellow is comparing Paul Revere'
Ride to a small spark that starts a great fire.
...impetuous: impatient
...mast and spar: ...parts
of the ship that hold the sails... Here Longfellow says that with
the moon behind them, they look like prison bars.
...moorings: place
where a ship anchors
...muffled oar: Paul
wrapped material around the oarlocks on his rowboat so they wouldn't
make noise
...spectral: ghostly
...Somerset, British man-of-war:
The Somerset was a 44-cannon British fighting ship
(called a "man-of-war"). The British had the most fearsome
fighting ships in the world in 1775.