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LITR 4328: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2015 Sample answers
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Heidi Kreeger
Lyrically Learned
Lyric poetry was utilized by many of the most influential writers of the
American Renaissance such as Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman.
Though they each have a unique style, all three utilized the power of lyric
poetry. Within their differing styles, techniques and subject matter is an
insight into the diverse and complex society in America during this period.
Lyric poetry has traditionally been described as “what
most people mean when they say ‘poetry’ or ‘a poem’" according to our course
website. To be more specific, it is a type of poem which is either created with
the intention of being sung or with a melodic cadence. A lyric poem may rhyme or
not rhyme, be simple or complex, sung or spoken – but generally speaking they
all tend to be “short verbal expressions of feelings” (course terms). The main
appeal of this genre is the fact that lyric poems sound beautiful, and evoke
beautiful imagery. Beyond this, however, is the ability of lyric poetry to be
both impulsive and intense, conveying a fleeting powerful emotion or moment with
the use of a few well-chosen words.
Walt Whitman is widely considered the most influential American writer of
the American Renaissance period, and arguably, of all time. The poem “When I
Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” is an excellent example of how Whitman chose to
interpret the lyric poem. He was the first great poet to write extensively in
“free verse”, which can be described as an elevated imitation of everyday
speech. The poem itself does not contain any direct rhymes but it does
demonstrate alliteration, and parallelism that creates the sense of elevated
language. The parallelism or anaphora is seen in the first four lines of the
poem as he starts each line with the word “when”. According to his style guide
on our course website, some of Whitman’s consistent themes included “Mystical
transcendence and absorption” and how his “poetry works to resolve a
problem in American society that can't be resolved except poetically or
mystically”. This is also beautifully demonstrated within this poem. My
interpretation of the poem was that during the first four lines containing the
anaphora, Whitman catalogues logical and measurable factors of the universe that
incites the applause and respect of society. However he falls ill and retreats
in the subsequent four lines, to revel in “the mystical
moist night-air” and to gaze “in perfect silence at the stars”. This signifies
that it is not within scientific knowledge but rather mystically that we will
remain healthy and successful.
Edgar Allan Poe was quite different in style and subject matter. His
style guide describes him as the most romantic poet of the time and he wrote
almost exclusively in formal verse, where there is a discernible cadence and the
end of each line rhymes with another. The result is poetry that is the most
lyric of the period, classically speaking. A wonderful example of Poe’s style is
his poem “The City in the Sea”. It is written with a strict formal verse and an
AABB rhyme scheme. The romantic themes that he liked to include in his work can
be seen within the elevated language and the way in which he describes the
situation as being larger than life. He also retains gothic themes as he speaks
on death, hell, and the gothic color code with the use of words/phrases such as
“shadowy long forgotten bowers”, “hideously serene”, “dim West” and “redder
glow”. Poe’s subject matter often included the theme of gothic as phycology, and
to me this poem epitomizes that ideal. Each word on each line is chosen
carefully to convey imagery of either the elevated aspects of heaven, or the
lowly aspects of hell. Not just geography but also architecture is used to
create this imagery and I got the sense that this poem communicates the struggle
of either/both of the individual and of society to choose between heaven and
hell.
Not to be dismissed is Emily Dickinson, whose style in many ways combines
that of Poe and Whitman. She often wrote in a combination of free and formal
verse (leaning more toward formal verse in most cases), and with a unique flair
of her own, including the frequent use of dashes and capitalization. But though
she shared characteristics of both Poe and Whitman, “her
thought and style refuse
to be pinned down or reduced to a single truth or technique. What
is true in one place may not be true in another” (Dickinson style guide). Her
poem “I heard a fly buzz, when I died”
is chalk full of her unique style. The first thing you notice looking at
the poem is the frequency with which she uses dashes and one of my favorite
aspects of hearing Dickinson read is the way in which readers interpret the
dashes. It also displays a particularly free verse for her, though the final
stanza does reflect an ABCB rhyme scheme. There are also several of her common
subjects included in the poem, including the obvious confrontation with death.
Also included is nature as the symbol of spirit, in this case the fly represents
her consciousness or connection to this world. It is also a familiar setting for
her, within her room and looking out the window.
Each of these poems is an example of a lyric poem, though they all differ
greatly in their style, technique, and subject matter. They all have a melodic
cadence to them, but Poe has the most traditional sing-song structure to his
poetry, Dickinson offers a more
broken, informal style, and Whitman’s poetry is lyric mostly in that he presents
beautiful and fluid language. All three of the poets discussed were influenced
by both romanticism and realism, and similarly, they each show this influence in
different ways. Poe often focused most on romanticism though realism was
certainly present. For example, in “The City in the Sea” he catalogues and
describes the setting in realistic terms, though he manages to do so in a
distinctly romantic way. Whitman also tends to describe nature in very romantic
ways, but also uses a lot of cataloguing in a strictly realistic way in order to
set a stark scene. Dickinson in turn uses a lot of realistic language but tends
to describe her ideals in very romantic ways.
All three of these poems and poets demonstrate the time period in which
the most popular genre shifted from romanticism to realism, and thus they each
demonstrate aspects of both. However they are each unique and offer their own
insight and style to this time period as well.
It is only by studying these poets and more in succession that we are
able to get a comprehensive sense of the American Renaissance poet.
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