Hesperia: A Poem is a lengthy verse volume by Richard Henry Wilde (1789–1847), an Irish-American lawyer, and first edited and published by his son in 1867.
[3] The Oxford Companion to American Literature, fourth edition, described Hesperia as "a long poem in Tom Moore's vein.
[6] In the Dedication, the title Hesperia is explained, as to an Italian: from the Greek, it implies the westward land (from the literal evening star), and so Italy.
[9] Another suggestion, made by Wright, is that the Marchesa, addressed as "Mary", stands for Maria Robbins (1806–1869), English wife of the Italian Marchese Lorenzo Bartolommei of Florence.
[11] Arguing that Ellen Adair White is referred to in the fourth canto of Hesperia, by means of the name of her parental home, and that Wilde was in love with her as a married woman, Graber then finds a crux.