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About The Poet Phoebe Cary
A Legend Of The Northland Summary:
Summary of the poem a legend of the northland written by Phoebe Cary(1822-1871). This poem is a ballad. In this poem, the poet tells a ballad about the lady and the Saint. Saint Peter was hungry because of his journey worldwide.

Phoebe Cary - A Legend of the Northland Summary Analysis and Explanation

Poet Name Phoebe Cary
Born 4 September 1822, Mount Healthy, Ohio, United States
Died 31 July 1871, Newport, Rhode Island, United States
Nationality American
Genre prose
Siblings Alice Cary

A Legend of the Northland Introduction

This poem is a legend about an old lady who angered Saint Peter because of her greed. The poem is simple but teaches us a moral lesson that we should not be greedy. We must help the poor and hungry people. Human city is above all. It is the only quality that differentiates us from the animals. So, we should be compassionate towards those who genuinely need our help. Only then we can become a perfect human being. By not giving food to hungry Peter, the old lady provokes his anger who punishes her by turning her into a woodpecker.

A Legend of the Northland Introduction

A Legend of the Northland Summary of the Poem

In this poem, the poetess tells us a story of the Northland. At that time Saint Peter lived on the earth. He used to go round the world to preach people whom he met on the way. One day, he came to the door of a cottage where a little woman was making cakes and baking them on the hearth. Saint Peter had eaten nothing the whole day. So, he was fainting with hunger.

He asked the lady to give him a piece of cake. The woman was greedy and selfish. Giving something to anyone was a very difficult task for her. The cake that she was baking appeared to be too big. So she made a small cake for the hungry saint. But that also appeared to be too big to give away. So she made another one which was smaller even than the first. But when it was ready, it appeared to be big so she did not give him that also. Then she took an extremely little scrap of dough and rolled it flat.

She had it as thin as a wafer but she was too greedy to part with even this cake and put it on the shelf. This angered Saint Peter a lot. He told the greedy lady that she was not fit to live in the world in human form and enjoy food and shelter and warmth of fire. He cursed her and transformed her into a woodpecker who has to bore in the dry wood hard to get its scanty food. She can be seen in the wood where she still lives and keeps boring trees for her food all the day.

A Legend of the Northland Summary of the Poem

FAQs on A Legend of the Northland Summary

Q1. What is the summary of a legend of the Northland?
Ans: The poem is a legend about an old lady who angered Saint Peter because of her greed. The story goes’ on like this. In Northland lived a lady who was very selfish and greedy. Saint Peter while preaching the world reached her door one day.

Q2. What is the legend of the Northland as given in the poem?
Ans: “A Legend of the Northland” is a traditional, popular story composed in the style of a ballad. It narrates the legend of how St. Peter had once cursed an old lady for being mean and stingy. The poem, thus, imparts the important lesson that greed always gets punished.

Q3. Is the legend of the Northland a true story?
Ans: It is not a true story. The point of the story where the woman is turned into a woodpecker bird is the most important. This is so because the punishment teaches everyone the lesson to be generous. … Write the story of ‘A Legend of Northland’ in about ten sentences.

Q4. Who is the poet of a legend of Northland?
Ans: A Legend of the Northland. A Legend of the Northland : This poem narrates the legend of an old lady who angered Saint Peter because of her greed.