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(2018
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2018 #2a: Short Essay (Passage) (index) |
LITR 4328 |
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Anne Ngo
A Dedication to the Past: An
Examination of Poe’s “Sonnet— To Science”
Many people in this age reminisce the
past. However, they were not the first to engage in nostalgia. The Romantic
period marked an era of change: cities became more industrious and empirical
science was on the rise (Course Objective 2a; Terms/Themes: Empirical). Due to
this rapid change, American Renaissance writers may respond to it in their
works. For example, Edgar Allan Poe’s “Sonnet— To Science” showcases a longing
for the past. This poem interested me, as I questioned why Poe would write a
sonnet, resembling a letter of sorts, to science. Examining the poem, Poe’s use
of the romantic rhetoric and allusions indicates a yearning for the past,
suggesting that the rise of empirical science inhibits people to engage in the
imagination.
The third quatrain of the poem
encompasses the romantic rhetoric, reflecting the poet’s nostalgia for the past.
The use of “hast” and “thou” captures the archaic or “old-fashion” diction of
the romantic rhetoric, a style of Romantic literature (9-12; Terms/Themes:
Romantic Rhetoric & Diction). The archaic diction in this quatrain shows the
direct influence of the English Renaissance on to the poet’s language.
Furthermore, the poem’s form supports this influence, as the sonnet incorporates
the characteristics of a Shakespearian sonnet: three quatrains and an ending
couplet. This inspiration mirrors the theme of nostalgia that is prevalent in
Romanticism. Thus, the use of the romantic rhetoric indicates the poet’s longing
for past times.
The sonnet’s ending couplet also references another
allusion, showing that science pulls the imagination away from those that engage
with it. In a continuation from the third quatrain, the poet asks their last
question to science: “Hast thou not torn. . . / the Elfin from the green grass,
and from me / The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?” (13-14). While, the
poet alludes to a mythical figure that connects with nature, the poet seems to
compare themselves alongside it. Like the Elfin who wonders in nature, the poet
finds their “summer dream” under the “tamarind tree” (14). The sonnet’s
Shakespearean form supports this comparison, as its ending couplet “naturally”
binds both the last two lines and the two figures together. By comparing
themselves to an Elfin, the poet shows that they see themselves as another
imaginative being. The use of the word “dream” also indicates the poet’s
connection to an imaginative realm, different to the “dull realities” of science
(4). Therefore, the poet strives to maintain their dreams and imagination,
rejecting science’s more realistic view of the world.
Through the use of the romantic rhetoric and allusions,
the poet suggests that science stops people from engaging in the imagination.
The use of “hast’s” and “thou’s” of the romantic rhetoric persuades the audience
to long for the past. The allusion and comparison between the poet and the Elfin
reveal their attitude towards science, seeing it as “dull realities” and not the
imaginative. This is telling of some of the responses to the rapid industrial
change and the rise of empirical science during this period. In the 21st
century, people mutually agree that science is an important discipline to study.
However, some people during the Romantic period, as the poet exemplifies, were
fearful of change. But perhaps change is the key to a new, brighter start.
