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(2013
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2013 #2a: Short Essay (Favorite Passage) |
LITR 4232 |
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Baisha Kreuzer
Analysis of Sonnet
– To Science
Edgar Allan Poe has a particular style of
writing that makes him instantly recognizable as a writer. His resort to
romantic gothic has become his signature panache and gives each work a similar
yet distinctive character. In the poem
Sonnet – To Science, Poe discusses the truth that science dulls the truth
and takes away from the abilities and creativity of the poet.
In the beginning, Poe writes that science
“alterest all things with thy peering eyes”, which means that he cannot find
spiritual beauty and meaning in science because it is always altering the
perception to facts and measurements. This opening passage sticks out to me
because as a spiritual person myself, I have always believed there are some
things science cannot explain. Poe’s reference to science preying upon a poet’s
heart and taking away the spiritual aura in (what I assume he is referring to
as) nature reflects an age old argument about science over religion.
For many years, people have argued over the
realities of a spiritual being and whether or not the unexplained anomalies of
the earth can be chalked up to science or supernatural. What Poe dwells on in
his sonnet is highlighting the spiritual realm of these anomalies. With Poe’s
heavy inclusion of Greek mythology, he describes science as tearing apart
creativity and poetry that has developed over time as man’s way of explaining
Earth’s mysteries.
“Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car?”
is a line that particularly stands out to me because Poe has taken a
mythological god, Diana and describes science as literally dragging her out of
her element. While brief, this line speaks volumes for Poe’s description of how
he feels science is negating humanity away from creativity. In the early
nineteenth century, the European Industrial Revolution was crossing the Atlantic
and changing the United States into a technological wonderland. This poem
reflects the change the U.S was making as it was transforming from Renaissance
to Technology.
This poem reminded me a lot of Immanuel
Kant’s What is Enlightenment as he
too discusses the integration of technology into society and taking away
humanity’s intimacy with nature. Nature versus technology will always be an
ongoing battle as finding a balance between the two can be very difficult. Poe’s
sonnet is a great reminder to unplug once in a while and find solace in nature.
