Unique Element About the Author / Historical Context An EPIC POEM of Acadia by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. Evangeline: A Tale of Acadia by AMERICAN author HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW )1807-1882) is an epic poem in dactylic hexameter first published in 1847 in the UNITED STATES. A beloved LITERARY classic telling the story of the Acadian peoples whose lives were devastated after the French authorities ceded the Acadian colonies of Nova Scotia to the British. Evangeline describes the betrothal of a fictional Acadian girl named Evangeline Bellefontaine to her beloved, Gabriel Lajeunesse, and their separation as the British deport the Acadians from Acadie in the Great Upheaval. Sneak Peak 'In the Acadian land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas, Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand-Pré Lay in the fruitful valley. Vast meadows stretched to the eastward, Giving the village its name, and pasture to flocks without number. Title Details ¿Originally published in 1847 Epic poem