The story of Evangeline tracks the actual events of 1755. The poet recognized a crime against humanity when he first heard the tale, and created this vehicle to memorialize the sad story of star crossed lovers, families, and communities divided and exiled from their adored homeland.

The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Expulsion of the Acadians. The idea for the poem came from Longfellow's friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Longfellow used dactylic hexameter, imitating Greek and Latin classics, though the choice was criticized. It became Longfellow's most famous work in his lifetime and remains one of his most popular and enduring works.