Read these lines from the poem. they refer to the biblical story of samson.

there is a poor, blind samson in this land,

shorn of his strength and bound in bonds of steel,

who may, in some grim revel, raise his hand,

and shake the pillars of this commonweal,

till the vast temple of our liberties

a shapeless mass of wreck and rubbish lies.

in the bible, samson is dedicated to god, and as a sign of his dedication, his hair is never cut. god gives samson immense physical strength. but samson is tricked into revealing his secret, and evil people shave his head, which makes him lose his strength. the evil people capture him, blind him, and make him a slave. samson asks god to give him strength once more so he can seek revenge on the evil people, and god does. samson destroys their temple, killing many of them, and killing himself in the process. longfellow compares the slaves in america to samson.

how does this allusion express the poem’s meaning?

it cautions that slavery doesn’t just destroy the slave, but also destroys american ideals.

it expresses the belief that slave uprisings might destroy the entire country.

it states that american talk about “liberty” is as meaningless as a destroyed building as long as people still hold slaves.

it celebrates the tremendous political power that newly freed slaves had to vote and change the government.