He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”

In the poem’s second stanza (line 6–14), Paul Revere addresses his collaborator and explains how to send a signal once he determines the direction of the British army’s approach. This passage is significant for three reasons. First, on the level of narrative, it effectively gives the reader a preview of the events to follow. That is, Revere will await his friend’s signal on the far shore of the Charles River, then ride through the villages of Middlesex County to ensure the “country-folk” can prepare for the coming battle. Second, these lines represent the only sustained section of reported speech in the poem. After these words from the poem’s hero, the rest of the narrative is recounted entirely in the speaker’s own words. Thus, these lines give the reader a chance to hear from the legend himself, as it were. Third, and most significant, this stanza contains the poem’s most famous and oft-quoted line: “One if by land, and two if by sea.” Though entirely of Longfellow’s invention, this phrase has become so entrenched in the American popular imagination that many mistake it for a quote from the historical Revere. It’s not. Yet the popularity of this line demonstrates the impact that Longfellow’s poem has made.

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 that flies 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.

Lines 73–80 represent the climax of the poem. At this point, Revere, who has already crossed the Charles River, has just received the signal from his comrade. Now knowing that the British are approaching from the sea, he can set off on his mission to warn the villages of Middlesex County. Thus, he spurs his horse into action and so creates the “hurry of hoofs in a village street.” The speaker seems to imply that it is at this moment, when dramatically lit by the moonlight, that Revere becomes a figure of legendary proportions. But what’s important about this passage isn’t simply that it marks the moment Revere the hero sets off on his midnight ride. Also significant is the speaker’s remarkable account of the spark that’s caused by the horse’s hoof striking against a cobblestone. The speaker emphasizes the symbolic significance of this spark, which “kindled the land into flame with its heat.” The fire mentioned here is metaphorical in nature, and it symbolizes the spirit of American resistance to the British that would soon sweep through New England.

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

The speaker concludes the poem with these lines (125–30), where they reflect on the significance of the story they’ve just recounted. According to them, what’s most important about their narrative is that it’s an intentional act of historical memory. That is, their narration of Paul Revere’s ride aims to correct the problem they identified in the opening stanza, where they lamented: “Hardly a man is now alive / Who remembers that famous day and year” (lines 4–5). Now, at the poem’s end, the speaker explicitly addresses their fellow Americans and urges them to consider “our history.” If Americans listen carefully to their own history, they will be able to hear “the night-wind of the past,” which ushers the sounds of history into the present. In this case, the night-wind will bear with it the sound of “hurrying hoof-beats.” Attending to this sound “borne” from the past enables folks in the present to reconnect with the revolutionary spirit that spurred “the midnight message of Paul Revere.” In doing so, Americans will also be reminded of the ideal of freedom which that revolutionary spirit aimed to protect.

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