Read the poem.
excerpt from “Paul Revere’s Ride”
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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 flying fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
How does Longfellow convey the idea that a single person can have a tremendous impact on history?
He describes Revere as a "shape in the moonlight."
He describes Revere as "a bulk in the dark."
He writes of how the "fate of a nation was riding that night."
He writes of the sound made by the "hurry of hoofs."