LITR 4232 American Renaissance 2012 Student Midterm Samples 3. Web Highlights: Review at least 3 posts from course website's Model Assignments (4-6 paragraphs)

Velma Laborde

Black & White; Opening Poetry; Hearing the American Renaissance

Review #1.

Black and White

          The first review that I did was from midterm samples from 2003 the "Identify and Signify" portion.  I particularly like the passage by KM where he discussed a passage by Frederick Douglass in "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave."  In this he discusses the use of the light and dark with regard to the gothic.  KM says, "Douglass uses the contrast of light and dark.  The terms he uses are necessary to gain sympathy from the white community for whom he is writing.  Several times throughout the passage he appeals to the beauty of whiteness.  The Chesapeake Bay’s “bosom was ever white with sails”, the boats were “robed in purest white”, and “you are freedom’s swift winged angels”.  The things that are white are so desirable to Douglass, but also sadden him by reminding him of the situation that he is in, that he is not white."  I completely agree with him that the terms used in this passage are examples of the gothic.  I think the passage goes further than the gothic and moves into the sublime and transcendent. 

          The sails of the boat are "ever" white and robed in "purest" white.  The color white generally signifies something good.  Describing the white sails as that goes on for "ever" and is the absolute "purest" are sublime images because not only are they far reaching and beyond the norm, but there is an ugliness that underlies the beautiful language and the image of white as beauty because of the fact that Douglass is a black slave.  The beautiful "white" color of the boats transcend the here and now and take on a spiritual significance as they are termed "swift-winged angels," another phrase that brings to mind white and purity, yet includes "angels" giving it a significance beyond the earth.  KM says that Douglass is sad because he is desirable of the things that are white, but he is not white.  This is also an example of correspondence.  Douglass is sad and he is black and he longs for the white things that are pure and beautiful, but he cannot have them.  The white things are untouchable and beyond him, they are sublime and transcendent.

Review #2.

Whitman and Dickinson:  Opening Poetry

          My second review is of the web highlights from Spring 2002 compiled by Elina Trevino.  In particular, I enjoyed the section that compared and contrasted the poetry styles of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.  JD wrote, "Whitman tends to typically be more lengthy and drawn out, writing in a free verse style that, at times, seems almost reminiscent of prose. Dickinson, on the other hand, is more concise with her poems, and though she tends to use slant rhyme schemes within them, she never quite approaches the free verse style."  I agree that both poets have completely different styles.  Whitman is known for his open free verse and Dickinson for her "concise" style and intentional patterns.  I found it an interesting comparison that although the styles are so different they both end up producing a similar effect. 

          JD describes Whitman's poems as having the ability to, "open the mind to a deeper search for answers to problems that are not easily solved."  In my opinion Dickinson's poetry does that very same thing.  She goes about it in a different manner, but her poems are filled with so many possibilities it forces you to consider the meanings and purpose behind several different "problems."  LL states that with Dickinson's poems, "Readers can usually expect to find simplicity in her writing, but can also expect that her words can lead them down various paths of meaning."  I completely agree and this very thing about her poetry is what makes her so similar to Whitman.  Whitman's free verse style actually frees his poetry to address any topic or issue, many times things not normally addressed.  What makes Dickinson's poetry just as encompassing, and even great, is that she uses a confined and specific style (not free verse) yet still finds a way to address almost anything.

Review #3.

Hearing the American Renaissance

          My final review is from Student Research proposals from 2004.  In this section Lindsey Allnatt is considering doing her research proposal on the "musicality" of certain poetry from the American Renaissance.  She mentions Poe and Tennyson in her proposal.  Her idea really struck me and I found that most of the works that we have read so far can fall into this "musicality" idea.  Dickinson immediately came to mind.  In her poem I Felt a Funeral in my Brain, the entire poem is heard and felt through her choice of words, repetition, rhyming and style.  She used words like, "beating, beating" and "creak across my soul" and "space began to toll."  All of these brought images that were not only felt but heard.  Dickinson is the obvious example though. 

          I really felt a sense of musicality with Washington Irving.  His descriptive language seemed to flow like music.  His lines are often long and descriptive and take you away to a place.  In paragraph 2 of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow he says, "If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley."  In my opinion this line was musical.  It was beautiful and flowing, but I could hear the silence and quiet.  In Rip Van Winkle, paragraph 17, "Rip every know and then heard long rolling peals, like distant thunder, that seemed to issue out of a deep ravine, or rather cleft, between lofty rocks, toward which their rugged path conducted."  Again, the long descriptive line feels musical with rises and falls between the words.  The reader is taken along "rolling peals" and can hear the "distant" thunder from a "deep" ravine, "toward" a path.  The words take you on a musical journey.  I really enjoyed her idea of "musicality" and it perfectly describes the way the writing of the American Renaissance that we have read so far has made me feel.  It feels like music.