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LITR 4328: American Renaissance  |
Final Exam Essays 2015 Sample answers
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Joshua Van Horn
Romantic Poetry: Formal, Free and Transcendent
Lyric
poetry is a genre of poetry that people most often associate poetry with. Though
poems of this genre may have many differences, they are united in their musical
delivery of language, utilizing rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, etc. to achieve
their purposes. Historically, they were accompanied by music, but today they are
often expressed through words alone. Their content is usually subjective in that
they are more interested in exploring intuitions instead of objective settings
and characters. Furthermore, they
tend to appeal to their audience because of their language, the pictures they
paint, and their ability to provoke an experience that is difficult to convey
otherwise (lyric poem link). Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson
are all masters of the lyric poem, differing in style, but remaining equal in
greatness.
Poe’s verse is the most formal of all the poets, relying on patterns of
regular rhyme and rhythm (Poe style sheet). In “City in the Sea” Poe uses
rhyming patterns to give his poem a sort of musical quality. Lines like
“resignedly beneath the sky/ the melancholy waters lie” are pleasing to one’s
ears because of their rhythm and rhyme scheme (1.10-1.11). Though Poe’s poem
does not follow a consistent pattern of rhyme and rhythm, it does use both
throughout the entire piece. The use of alliteration, in Poe’s description of
“gaping graves” and “thousand thrones”, lend the poem a further musical quality
that makes the poem dreamlike. The subject of the poem is a personified death
who lives in “Babylon-like walls” (2.7). Death being the subject of the poem,
along with its scenery, makes the piece fall within the tradition of the
European gothic. In addition to these characteristics, the poem also makes use
of Poe’s excess. Line 1.4’s mention of “the good and the bad and the worst and
the best”, references the sublime. A combination of all of these elements gives
the poem Poe’s voice, in that its darkness and language is characteristic of all
of Poe’s poetry (Poe style sheet).
Standing in direct contrast to Poe is the poetry of Walt Whitman, often
considered America’s greatest poet. Whitman is well known for his use of free
verse, a type of poetry that does not make use of regular meter and rhyme
patterns. Instead, it desires to imitate more natural forms of speech, letting
the poem dictate the form, and not vice versa. Still operating as a lyric poem,
however, free verse makes use of figures of speech and different rhythmic sounds
(Whitman style sheet). With free verse, it is sometimes a little bit more
difficult to distinguish the author’s voice since there are not as many rules
put to use that one can attribute to a particular poet. Whitman manages to get
his voice across, however, by using other poetic conventions that he can be
identified by. One convention that Whitman regularly uses is anaphora (Whitman
style sheet). In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
Whitman repeatedly begins the first four lines with “When I”. Because
anaphora is an ancient technique it gives the poem a sense of authority, perhaps
reminding one of biblical language. In the same poem Whitman also makes use of
the elision of silent verbs, a technique that is found throughout all of his
poetry (Whitman style sheet). With a glance at the title one discovers the verb
“look’d”. Whitman used this technique to further increase free verse’s natural
sound.
As
far as the subject of the poem goes, Whitman blends the realistic with the
romantic, as he often does. Beginning with the lecture’s “charts” and “diagrams”
Whitman ends with the “mystical moist night-air” (3 & 7). It is characteristic
of Whitman to glorify everyday life. After experiencing the dull realities of
science, his character leaves the lecture room to experience the awesomeness of
nature.
Poe
and Whitman’s poetry mostly contrast in their style. Poe’s formal verse has a
greater musical quality while Whitman’s free verse is more reminiscent of
everyday language. While remaining serious, Poe’s musical sound makes his poems
more playful. Whitman, on the other hand, using other poetic conventions, but
embracing free verse overall, has a voice that comes across as more solemn than
Poe’s. Poe’s poetry also seems to cultivate a darker tone, reminding one of the
gothic, while Whitman desires to rejoice in the glory of humanity and everyday
life. Both of these characteristics, however, speak to a larger theme that
connects the two men, namely their persistence in the romanticizing of mundane
realities.
In a
certain sense, Emily Dickinson can be seen as another connection between the two
poets in that her poetry contains elements of both formal and free verse. The
most consistent pattern found throughout Dickinson’s poetry is her “transient”
thoughts and techniques (Dickinson style sheet). Keeping in touch with this
theme, Dickinson’s poetry flows back and fourth between formal verse and
elements of free verse. She regularly uses four line stanzas and iambic
pentameter, but will also divert from both of these techniques as the poems
progress (Dickinson style sheet). Dickinson’s “I heard a fly buzz when I died”
captures her elusive style. The poem follows a four-line stanza structure, and
uses half rhymes instead of true rhymes, such as “room” and “storm” found in
lines two and four. The poem’s verse is not as formal as the verse of Poe, but
it is not as free flowing as the verse of Whitman either. It lies somewhere in
between the poetry of both men, utilizing an inventive structure. There also
exists the Dickinson dash, as she uses it in line thirteen, saying, “With
Blue—uncertain—stumbling Buzz”. Interesting punctuation, particularly the dash,
is found throughout all of her poetry and is littered throughout “I heard a fly
buzz when I died” (Dickinson style sheet). The poem also deals with the subject
of death, an idea that Dickinson wrote about extensively, and which serves as
something of a signature of Dickinsonian poetry. Dickinson has a unique voice
that can be heard through all of her writings. Like Poe, she often covers dark
themes and uses formal structure. Similar to Whitman, however, her poetry
mystifies normal events and embraces elements of free verse.
The
three poets are defining figures in American literature. Their contribution to
the Romantic period is monumental. Though their use of verse differs, all three
poets are marked by their romantic themes in that they glorify the past, the
present, and the future, envisioning them as something otherworldly. Through
studying the three poets individually one comes away with a better understanding
of the romantic period, but through studying the three poets as a collective one
comes to understand the different styles and techniques found throughout lyric
poetry. For these reasons, in addition to their greatness, the writings of the
poets must continue to be taught.
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