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TOPIC 53. THE NOVEL, THE TALE AND POETRY IN THE USA: H. MELVILLE, E. A.…
TOPIC 53. THE NOVEL, THE TALE AND POETRY IN THE USA: H. MELVILLE, E. A. POE AND W. WHITMAN
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- THE NOVEL, THE TALE AND POETRY IN THE USA: H. MELVILLE, E. A. POE, AND W. WHITMAN
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2.1. HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK
- 1850-1900: important changes in the USA brought by
industrialisation, transitioning from a predominantly agrarian society to one dominated by machinery, with people working in non-farming occupations (=population increase and urbanisation ). It certainly brought innovations such as the telephone and the light bulb 💡which, along with the electrification of cities, revolutionised daily life
- Slavery was still a fact and the nation was being split in two by it.
- After CW, US period of vast commercial expansion : railroads , factories, bigger cities = + fortunes, + opportunities, + freedom.
As a result, they felt patriotism, trust in their country that made them sure that USA was the greatest nation on Earth.
REFERENCES
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The American Yawp
- Wright, N. (1969). "Melville's use of the Bible"
WALT WHITMAN (1819-1892) one of the fathers of free verse who inspired poets to experiment in prosody as well as in subject matter. He was a humanist and part of the transition between trascendentalism and realism.
- He's considered a symbol of American democracy and individualism for his celebration of the individual and his democratic spirit, advocating for social reforms. Indeed, his poems show his democratic view of a universal brotherhood that only the USA could achieve because he strongly believed that Americans had a special role in the world's future. This can be seen in his essays titled "Democratic Vistas"
- His active interest in politics led him to the editorship of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a Democratic party paper (a job he lost due to his advocacy of abolition of slavery and to help founding the free soil movement ).
- Whitman began his career as a printer's apprentice , which served him to self-publish his groundbreaking work, challenging traditional poetic forms and conventions. By self-publishing, he aimed to reach a wider audience and bypass the gatekeepers of the literary establishment. He also worked intermittently as a teacher, though he was not happy with this profession.
- He published and wrote his poems in an unconventional style in both content and technique, opting for reediting them under the same title: "Leaves of Grass" . Since he was constantly modifying the book, it remained an incomplete work-in-progress.
- Its signature STYLE: includes "idiosyncratic treatment of the body and the soul as well as of the self and the other. He gave + importance to the message than form, despite the repetitions of some words and sounds, which gives unity to his poetry. His plain, oratorical style contains lists and cataloguing. He wrote in a everyday language that was innovative, employing a personal tone, openly writing about death and sexuality, including prostitution
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EDGAR ALLAN POE
- orphan as a 3-year-old. Later lived with his widowed aunt
- Enlisted in the army but was released after his disobedience of orders.
- Had drinking problems which led him to death
got married with his cousin (who later died).
Supported by his foster father until he refused to provide Edgar with financial aid due to his problem with gambling
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THEMES, STYLE AND WORKS
- He established himself as a CRITIC since he wanted to help develop a national literature through intelligent criticism. He provided devastating reviews of popular contemporary authors, reason why they called him "The Tomahawk Man" . Although his contributions were appreciated, he started having trouble because of his controversial opinions and his alcoholism.
- to support himself he became the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond . Then, he joined the Burton's Gentleman's Magazine as an assistant editor, contributing several short Stories, including "The Fall of House Usher". .
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he was interested in psychology and in the darker side of human nature; that's why his fiction belongs to the Gothic Tradition (containing elements such as fear, gloom, death, supernatural, horror), but it's romantic in language and imagery.
- His style is characterised by its musicality and rhythm; he sought it through rhyme, repetition and brevity, along with other tools such as alliteration and allegory.
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- Turned to fiction and published poems, winning a prize and a name with "The Raven". . His poetry was influenced by Byron, Keats and Shelley ; yet it's subjective, surreal and mystical
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HERMAN MELVILLE
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WORKS, STYLE and THEMES
Encouraged by his family, he wrote Typee and its sequel, Omoo . These two novels tell Melville's adventure in the South Seas, contrasting civilisation with primitive life.
- Indeed, he kept using his experience as theme for his works, as can be seen in his last published work, "The Confidence Man" , a journal of his tour of Europe, a despairing satire on America's corrupted dreams.
- His last important work is "Billy Budd", published 30 years after his death telling the story of a young sailor and his evil enemy who destroy each other.
- His most important work is Moby Dick, which represents a symbolic voyage and the conflict between the captain of a whaler and a whale who tore off his leg. It shows the constant captain's wish of revenge who even drives his crew in a desperate search for the whale. Melville wrote it in a powerful style with sections that can stand by themselves as short-stories of merit. The novel has Shakespearean rethoric and dramatic staging, presenting the sea as a place of transition.
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In Nathalia Wright's view, Melville's style contains Biblical elements (with an apocalyptic tone, using hebraisms), classical references, philosophical speculations, allegories, proverbs and refrains.
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- Wright, N. (1969). "Melville's use of the Bible"
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2.2. LITERARY BACKGROUND: NEW ENGLAND OR AMERICAN TRASCENDENTALISM
- origin: Massachussets ; early 19th c.
- According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, it's a movement of writers and philosophers united by an idealistic system of thought based on the belief of the unity of all creations, innate goodness and the supremacy of logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. It represented a battle between old and young generations and the new national culture based on native materials.
- Trascendentalists insisted on the unique viewpoint of individuals. Individualistic figures: Emerson and Fuller founded the prototypical magazine "The Dial" , where one can find the American Renaissance in Literature. Criticising and questioning organised religion, trascendentalists rejected 18th c. conventions and established order of the industrialised society. They were leaders in new schemes for living: better working conditions, female suffrage, free religion, educational innovation, and other humanitarian causes.
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