Sunday, November 27, 2011

Reflection: Fireside Poets

Fireside Poets represent Romanticism right down to the point. Romanticism is characterized by quite a few things. All of the Fireside Poets use these characteristics of Romanticism throughout their poetry. Though it might only include one of the many characteristics, the Fireside Poets still represented Romanticism. In most cases, however, characteristics of Romanticism are prominent throughout the entire poem.

Because I have missed two days of English in a row, I might be lacking some of the knowledge needed for the writing of this reflection. I have read your presentation on Romanticism and most of it makes sense to me. One the lesson plan on the website, it says that this reflection should cover Glencoe literature pages 210-211 and "poems from the internet." I am not really sure what poems from the internet, so I just looked the up by the names of the authors in the literature books. 

The first Fireside Poet would be William Cullen Bryant. His poem A Dream really captures the essence of nature that is prominent throughout works by Romanticists. Bryant describes nature that way that he sees it, and that is much characteristics (Bryant). He also puts childhood and youthfulness in his poem when referring to the "dreamer" (Bryant). Romanticism was all about children and nature, and Bryant hit on both of those characteristics. He also used his poem in order to really make the imagination go to its fullest. Throughout reading the entire poem, you really find things to be somewhat imaginary, but it still makes you understand the point (Bryant). Bryant used many characteristics of Romanticism in his poem in order to portray his message to his readers.

The first Fireside Poet is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I read his poem A Shadow. In A Shadow, Longfellow really pushes the essence of youthfulness. He questions what would happen to the children if he were dead and they were looking up to him for guidance (Longfellow). This poem really captures the Romanticism characteristic of youthful innocence. He also pushes that the world belongs to those who are the last to come (Longfellow). This also shows how Longfellow really pushed innocence towards his readers. Overall, Longfellow was very keen on the characteristic of youthfulness. The children of this world are the ones that truly matter in Longfellow's eyes.

John Greenleaf Whittier would be the next Fireside Poet. In his poem A Day, he really stresses nature. He has this in common with Bryant. He stresses that the "day" in November is just preparing us for Spring (Whittier). I feel that this would be Whittier's main point. He describes how the day exactly is, like the scene, and it really makes you feel like you are there right with him.

The next Fireside Poet would be Oliver Wendell Holmes. I read his poem A Portrait which captures the youthfulness that Romanticism is characterized by a lot. He wants the person, whoever the poem is about, to stay young forever. That is the only to survive (Holmes). Being young and keeping your innocence is very prominent in works by Romanticists.

The final Fireside Poet is James Russell Lowell. His poem, The Search, really captures Romanticism as a whole in my opinion. He describes the nature and how in his youthfulness he found it. He also brings Christ into the beginning of the poem (Lowell). A characteristic of Romanticism is placing faith in inner experiences and Lowell did just that. Finally, he uses his poem to let his imagination run (Lowell). He really incorporated the most Romanticism characteristics throughout his entire poem, and I felt that his was the most enjoyable.

Overall, all of the Fireside Poets had prominent Romanticism characteristics throughout all of their poems. Some used one characteristic that was prominent, and others used four. Either way, you still could see the Romanticism portrayed throughout all of the poems.

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