Preview

Poets Are Born Not Made

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2752 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Poets Are Born Not Made
Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree {Davidoff, 199}. American literature has been apart of our history since our settlement. Throughout our history, America has generated many great authors. These authors write works of literature that educate us, entertain us, and empower us. Two great authors that America has generated are Walt Whitman and Robert Frost. In researching these two authors, a question arose. In what ways do the authors, Walt Whitman and Robert Frost, compare andor contrast in the fulfillment of the critical literary theories, psychological and historical? In order to answer this question you have to know the definition of psychological and historical theories. Psychological Critical Theory 's definition is a work of literature has done something valuable if it shed light upon the human mind, for example: Hamlet, Crime and Punishment, The Fall. The definition of Historical Critical Theory is a work of literature has done something valuable if it sheds light upon an historic era, for example: Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur. Walt Whitman was considered to be the poet of the people. His unique ˜Leaves of Grass ' was new in form and in content. Whitman wrote about his country in a way never done before. At first the little book of strange verse seemed a failure. Emerson, however, recognized its greatness, and now most people agree that it was the first book of truly American poetry. The works of American poet Robert Frost tell of simple things- swinging on a birch tree, stopping by woods on a snowy evening, and the death of a hired man. Behind his work is a deep feeling for life 's fundamentals-love, loyalty, and awareness of nature and of God. Walt Whitman and Robert Frost compare and contrast in the fulfillment of the Critical Literary Theories, psychological and historical.

Walter Whitman was born in West Hills, Long Island, N.Y., on May 31, 1819, the second of six children. When he was four years



Cited: Whitman, Walt. Walt Whitman Selected Poems. New York: Gramercy Books, 1992. Doren, Mark Van, ed. The Portable Walt Whitman. New York: The Viking Press, 1973. Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views Walt Whitman. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Lathem, Edward Connery, ed. The Poetry of Robert Frost. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1975. Frost, Robert. In the Clearing. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979. Frost, Robert. Early Poems. New York: Avenel Books, 1981. Thompson, Lawrance Roger. Robert Frost. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1959. Richards, Norman. Robert Frost. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1968. Gerber, Philip L. Robert Frost. Boston: Twayne, 1982. Cox, James M. Robert Frost: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962. Barry, Elaine. Robert Frost. New York: Ungar, 1973. Miller, James Edwin. Walt Whitman. New York: Twayne, 1962. Bolton, Sarah. Famous American Authors. Crowell, 1954. Benet, Laura. Famous American Poets. Dodd, 1950. Loewen, Nancy. Walt Whitman. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 1994.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Walt Whitman linked the romantic, transcendental, and realist movements together to revolutionize literature. The American artist told stories of the auctions, of the markets, and of the vast possibilities of the American people.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Walter (Walt) whitman is an american poet, essayist, and a journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Was born May 13th, 1819. Lived in Brooklyn and Long Island in the 1820s and 1830s. Whitman spent his declining years working on additions and revisions to a new edition of the book and preparing his final volume of poems and prose, Good-Bye, My…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It can be said that American Literature has been profoundly influenced by specific era’s and their philosophies; some including Puritanism, Deism, Existentialism, etc. All of the above - mentioned, as well as others, impact American Literature with its new ideas culturally, socially, and politically. Ranging from poems to short stories, each of these systems of beliefs contributed from their authors, creating ideas that stayed with the American people.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Lee Frost was one of America 's leading 20th-century poets and a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. An essentially pastoral poet often…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Literature, as in any other country was based on the phase and situation where the country was going through at that moment. The 20th century, has an indelible trail on it, left by the World War I (7/28/1914 – 11/11/1918), this was a turning point to the American Literature, which was molding its shape before this event, and continued to do it subsequently. Significant movements continued to develop the authors in the faces of literature such as drama, poetry, fiction and criticism. Each one of them counting with outstanding representatives such as, Edgar Allan Poe, who was not only influencing in one these areas but many of them. In effect Poe’s writing was influenced by society, yet the key points to his job were his life experiences.…

    • 2237 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frost is an important writer due to the fact that he helped renew popular interest in American poetry by refusing to write with the academic modernist style used at the time, he chose to be different. Frost wrote about nature and rural life in a traditional yet complex way that grabbed the interest of many people. Some of his best works that I particularly like include “The Road Not Taken”, “Home Burial”, and “Fire and Ice”. These poems Frost wrote helped form the conception of Americans as tough, self-sufficient individuals. “Home Burial” was about the overwhelming grief after the death of a child. Frost knew and experienced this first hand due to the loss of quite a few people. “Fire and Ice” considers the apocalyptic end of the world.…

    • 203 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost is one of the most well-known American poets that has ever lived. According to the article “The Themes of Robert Frost”, “we know the labels [of Frost] which have been used: nature poet, New England Yankee, symbolist, humanist, skeptic, synecdochist, anti-Platonist, and many others” (Warren 1). The author of this article, Robert Penn Warren, notifies the readers that one cannot solely base their thoughts of Robert Frost’s work on his labels. He states, “(...) the important thing about a poet is never what kind of label he wears. It is what kind of poetry he writes” (Warren 1). In other words, trying to look beyond the labels of…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry Explication

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Take a minute to imagine “Men looking like they had been/attacked repeatedly by a succession /of wild animals,” “never/ ending blasted field of corpses,” and “throats half gone, /eyes bleeding, raw meat heaped/ in piles.” These are the vividly, grotesque images Edward Mayes describes to readers in his poem, “University of Iowa Hospital, 1976.” Before even reading the poem, the title gave me a preconceived idea of what the poem might be about. “University of Iowa Hospital, 1976” describes what an extreme version of what I expected the poem to be about. The images I described above are just some of the horrifying scenes described by Mayes. This poem spoke to me about the pain and suffering patients endure while staying in a hospital (whether it be a mental hospital or a medical hospital) and the horrific images the staff see daily. Mayes uses several types of imagery and literary tropes in his poem to give readers an intense visual sensation as they read his poem. The visuals Mayes placed in my own mind while I read this poem were intensely real and stuck with me long after I studied the poem.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ENG 125 Week 1 assignment

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Literature is the expression of thoughts, ideas, or feelings someone may have and can either be written or spoken. Often times we become part of the literature in a way to try to understand what the message is that the author is trying to provide to us. The literary work that I have chosen was a poem written by Robert Frost in 1916 titled, The Road Not Taken. There were a few reasons why this piece of literary work captured by interest and the first was that in High School we spent a week provided our analysis on this piece. It caught my interest based on the genre. Poetry is a type of literature that is open to interpretation and there is truly no right and wrong answer so it gives me the opportunity to analyze it without there truly being a right or wrong answer, I would have to back up my opinion with facts. What also caught my attention was the use of tone, symbolism, and imagination. My feelings on the tone over time have changed and I feel that the tone is more depressive. I can apply what I feel the meaning of the poem which to me means the journey we take in life and the choices we make and how we look back at them. Secondly the use of symbolism can be seen throughout the entire poem and can be applied to everyone's life. Imagination can be tied with the symbolism, Robert Frost use of imagination gives the poem meaning and allows us to engage in identify with his meaning is and is trying to portray to us.…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I picked this poem thinking this seems like a funny title and it would be a confusing poem…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Poetry

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages

    |• how they are written – words and phrases you find interesting, the way they are organised, and so on; |…

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry Explication

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Slaveship,” by Lucille Clifton, is a free verse poem from the perspective of slaves that the white men capture and trade in the slave trade, forcing them to travel on the Middle Passage. Ironically, the ships bear the names of religious symbols and figures such as Jesus, Angel of God, and Grace of God (lines 14-15) even though the act of slavery is one of the most sinful systems in the eyes of these slaves and in the eyes of all decent human beings.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thesis

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Born on May 31, 1819, Walt Whitman was the second son of Walter Whitman, a housebuilder, and Louisa Van Velsor. The family, which consisted of nine children, lived in Brooklyn and Long Island in the 1820s and 1830s.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Life of a poet

    • 1507 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Whose canon is it anyway?” is an article written by Bethan Marshall. In the article, Marshall analyzes a review by Tom Paulin of a book by Anthony Julius about the anti-Semitism and literary works of T. S. Elliot. Despite being a well-known anti-Semite, Elliot and his poetry were studied in schools around the world. Therefore, by questioning his beliefs, we also question our own culture because Elliot’s works are closely related to its foundation. So, Elliot poses the question: Is culture something we can control or deliberately influence? In 1993, the head of the National Curriculum Council, David Pascall, changed the curriculum in an effort to try and answer Elliot’s question. Five years earlier, Brian Cox had tried to implement a similar kind of curriculum as Pascall but did not follow through with it despite feeling the need for a cultural analysis. Edward Said describes culture as being something inevitable that grows on the individual and automatically makes them a little xenophobic. Dr. Nicholas Tate brought up how our culture is based on our interest and the environment in which we are placed in. He believes that someone can be multicultural as it is part of what makes the person core culture. Yet, by trying to alter the culture, we are losing the traditional values that English literature was built on. For example, the works by Elliot that was been studied for decades are the roots for questions about culture, identity and power that are trying to be preserved.…

    • 1507 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An author writes a book or novel to have the whole story put right out for you with a clear cut beginning middle and end. A poet can write a “novel” in very minimal lines or a few verses. They tell a story but give the rest for you to think and ponder about. A poet uses multiple literary devices in one single poem. When reading a poem you have to decode or decipher what the poet is really trying to say. They may use metaphors, irony and much more, in the poem “I Finally managed to speak to her”, the poet, Hal Sirowitz uses both of these literary devices.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays