“[F]uture commentators on American poetry and political issues will not be able to ignore the … authentic voice of the region,” argues Barry Ahearn, author of the article Poetry: 1900 to the 1940s, which discusses the importance of the author writing about his or her region of choice in their poetry and how it affects their writing (Ahearn 373). Ahearn discusses writers such as Sterling A. Brown, Langston Hughes, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), Robert Frost, Robinson Jeffers, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, John Crowe Ransom, Charles Rezikoff, Muriel Rukeyser, Gertrude Stine, Wallace Stevens, Sara Teasdale, William Carlos Williams, and Louis Zukofksy. The purpose of mentioning so many, claims Ahearn, is to gather a survey of works between 1900 and the 1940s. The discussion of these writers creates a wide range of Modernist authors that influenced each other and the people who read their works; the author claims that the authenticity of the writer is what creates a more accurate work of literature and the life experiences of these authors is the material that adds to their writing as a whole. Robert Frost and Langston Hughes are regional writers that focus on specific places but have similar qualities in their poems that transcend the locale. Two poems will be discussed that exemplify these qualities: “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” with “Birches” by Robert Frost and “Theme for English B” with “Visitors to the Black Belt” by Langston Hughes.
Modernist Poetry involves a movement away from the self and the emotions of the individual. Typically, the focus of Modernist poetry revolves around the rational notions of the self, unlike the Romantic period, which focused on the poet. Modernist poets ex...
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...olarship 2004.1 (2006): 385. EDS Foundation Index. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
Frost, Robert. “Birches.” The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 1400-1402. Print.
Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 1403. Print.
Hughes, Langston. “Theme for English B.” The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 2036. Print.
Hughes, Langston. “Visitors to the Black Belt.” The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th.Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 2032. Print.
Leffelholz, Mary. The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. D. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 1177-1191. Print.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
In the nineteenth century, following the devastating American Civil War, author John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a lengthy poem designed to solve both personal and national problems. Whittier hoped that his poetry could stitch together the festering wounds left by the Civil War. While composing his work, Whittier realized that a reminder of good times from the past would assist his fragile country in its reconstruction; his poem “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl” became the vehicle through which he achieved this goal. In particular, Whittier focuses in “Snow-Bound” on addressing his life in context, as well as on the issue of how the lessons of his youth apply to his country. He describes his early life, the issues of his family and memories, the contributions of nature to his literature, and, finally, his hope for the poem’s readers, which causes a fascinating response. Together, these attributes forever molded the United States as a nation.
Both Romantics and Modernists felt loss of authority, either from man or man's religious following. Poetry changed what it focused on as those figures lost respect or importance in the public's lives. I believe Yeats sums up my point partially in lines 19 and 20, "That twenty centuries of stony sleep/ Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle.
“The Weary Blues” and “Lenox Avenue: Midnight” by Langston Hughes are two poems written as scenes of urban life. Although these poems were written more than seventy years ago, it is surprising to see some general similarities they share with modern day city life. Dilluted down with word play and irrelevant lines such as “And the gods are laughing at us.”, the underlying theme is evidently urban life. “The Weary Blues” and “Lenox Avenue: Midnight” approach the general topic of urban life from two different aspects also.
Rampersad, Arnold. "Introduction.(THREE POEMS BY LANGSTON HUGHES)(Critical Essay)." Poetry 4 (2009): 327. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Black poetry is poetry that (1) is grounded in the black experience; (2) utilizes black music as a structural or emulative model; and (3) "consciously" transforms the prevailing standards of poetry through and inconoclastic and innovative use of language.
There have been many American poets throughout the centuries, but none compared to Robert Frost and Jane Kenyon. Jane Kenyon and Robert Frost can make the simplest thing such as picking a pear into something darker. Often Jane Kenyon and Robert Frost compose themes of nature, loneliness and death into their poetry. Both poets evoke feelings and stimulate the reader’s sensory reactions. Jane Kenyon’s Poem Let Evening Comes (1990) and Robert Frost’s Poem Desert Places (1936) may have been written in different eras, but both poets collaborate nature, spirituality and emotional solitariness in their poems.
In life a person will have dreams to follow and choices to make, but they should never live in regret. By analyzing how Langston Hughes and Robert Frost use diction, imagery, and metaphor, it is clear that their poems reflect on life choices, dreams and regret. Though both poems have similar topics, their conclusions are somewhat different. Langston Hughes concludes that without dreams, life is meaningless, empty. On the other hand, Robert Frost concludes that life goes on because people usually don’t travel backwards. When someone makes a choice, he or she can’t usually go back in time and make a different choice. Frost is saying that people should never stick to the past but move forward with their lives and never look back.
Lentricchia, Frank. Robert Frost: Modern Poetics and the Landscape of Self. Durham: Duke University Press. 1975. 103-107.
The modernist movement occurred between 1890 and 1950 and is based around famous poets such as T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and E.E. Cummings. The idea of modernism is to diverge from the past. Stein incorporates this powerfully as she reevaluates objects that have previously been standard similarly to how modernist poets revaluate old forms of poetry that have previously been standard. She causes readers to examine the difference between critical reading and creative reading. Readers of poetry often find themselves reading critically, focusing all their effort of analysis and comprehension of the poem. Stein writes as if she wants her readers to read creatively, putting little focus on the importance and seriousness of the
These imaginative minds are often separated into two different generations, or styles of writings, based on the style of authors and the experiences that they wrote about. The first generation of poets wrote about the longing for freedom and attempted to see the light at the end of the tunnel and remained hopeful. The optimistic poets, such as Wil...
Many fundamental modern poets, both past and present, have used their work to create a revolution in the world of poetry. The modernist era has created a new standard for the general definition of the poem, changing traditional form and meaning. Through specific focus on two works by modernist and imagist poet William Carlos Williams, “This is Just to Say” and “The Red Wheelbarrow”, one observes a trend modernist poetry seems to follow which is also the most important one. Arguably, modernism’s greatest concern is changing the traditional views of the subject matter of poetry. The extraordinary nature of poetry does not necessitate the mainstream structure and content it has known for centuries, but rather whatever structure and content that the respective poet decides will properly convey the desired message. It is the modernist poet’s intent to shift the view of what poetry should be about and to broaden the horizons of what makes a poem, a poem. The examination of William Carlos Williams’ aforementioned poems will prove, through the content and form, that for a work to be considered a poem, it does not require extraordinary subject matter and profound words to portray a meaning.
Many may argue that the Modernist movement was a completely new and unique movement within British literature. The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not the Modernist Literary Movement was completely unique or not. The similarities found in the works of Modernist authors and poets, such as Joseph Conrad and Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), will be examined against Romanticism themes and authors such as William Wordsworth. What will be found is that Modernism is not a completely unique movement, but one that combines elements from previous literary movements.
"Don't ever take a fence down, until you know why it was put up"- a quote from Robert Lee Frost, a well-known American and English poet. Following the death of his father he faced many challenges, including failing to finish college and many unsuccessful jobs. Shadowing his father and mother, he began a career in poetry. With his literary career failing, he and his family moved to England and then back to America a few years later. His success in America began in 1915 when his collection of poems became a sensation. Writing over one-hundred poems and winning countless awards, Frost became a sensation, even speaking in inaugural speeches. He died at the age of eighty-eight. Frost’s most recurring theme was elusiveness. He wrote about the struggles of nature and overall life, using very vivid imagery, making the reader dig deeper into his poems to find the true meaning of each. One of “Frost’s most famous poems, “The Road Not Taken,” has been criticized many times, even one woman calling it "the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep's clothing.” Overall, Robert Frost was one of the most well-known poets in American history, and his main theme, elusiveness, caused for many varied interpretations and critiques, most of them extraordinary.
Often called the most popular American poet of the twentieth century, Robert Frost achieved a worldwide reputation as a major poet early in his career. He and his family spent three years in England, where he published his first two collections of poetry, A Boy’s Will and North of Boston. Initially uncertain about the reception he would receive in the United States, he returned to New England in 1915 to find that his poetry had gained massive popularity among Americans. Frost’s poetry continues to claim a place in the hearts of today’s readers. If asked to name a poet, many would name Robert Frost. Elementary school children learn “The Road Not Taken” and “Mending Wall”. Frost’s poetry earned and keeps its popularity due to its appeal to a wide range of readers. Even those who don’t often read poetry can find something to enjoy. At first glance, Frost writes simply about nature, but beneath the beautiful imagery lays deeper meaning. Frost uses nature to convey his messages, some of which reflect the ideas of the earlier Romantic writers, such as the love of nature and the distrust of industry. While Robert Frost expresses beliefs shared by writers of the Romantic Period, he also describes his own ideas about love, death, and interpersonal relationships.