"Nevertheless," said the younger poet, "I felt down in my soul the clear and unmistakable conviction to disobey all, and pursue my own way"; in doing which he bettered Emerson's instructions by disregarding his advice. Hostile or brutal criticism left him quite unruffled. It reaffirmed him in his conclusions and cheered him with the thought that they were receiving serious attention. After Swinburne's fiercest attack, says Burroughs: "I could not discover either in word or look that he was disturbed a particle by it. He spoke as kindly of Swinburne as ever. If he was pained at all, it was on Swinburne's account and not on his own. It was a sad spectacle to see a man retreat upon himself as Swinburne had done." Whitman's broad influence. It is impossible, as all critics agree, to compass Whitman in a book or essay or compress him into a summary. He was an immensely expansive personality whose writings are as broad as life itself. It is almost equally impossible for one who has really read over and through and under his poems to speak of him in measured terms. The world is coming round to Whitman much faster than he expected. Every great step in human progress is a step in the direction he was pointing. His larger faith, whether so recognized or not, is yearly the faith of more and more thinking people. And in an immediate way his influence on the generation of living poets is incomparably great. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY AND CLASS DISCUSSION 1. What were some differences between New York and Boston as literary centers in the middle of the nineteenth century? 2. For varying sentiments about "Bohemia" see the following passages Ferris Greenslet's "Life of Thomas Bailey Aldrich," pp. 37-47; W. D. Howells's "Literary Friends and Acquaintances," pp. 68–76; Stedman and Gould's "Life of Edmund Clarence Stedman," pp. 208, 209; William Winter's "Old Friends," pp. 291–297. 3. What was the extent of Whitman's early travels, and what experiences among men served with him as substitutes for travel? 4. What was the reading public's attitude toward "Leaves of Grass" when it first appeared? 5. What connection did Whitman have with the Civil War? What was the corresponding connection for many men in the World War? What poems were drawn from his war experience? 6. How did Whitman illustrate the old adage about the "prophet without honor"? 7. What passage quoted from Whitman in the text proves that he was not intending to found a school of poetry. 8. Read, "O Captain! My Captain!" and note the conventional form in which it was cast, together with the striking exceptions in connection with the rime scheme. 9. Find, if you can, brief passages, other than those quoted in the text, of regular rhythms in the midst of free-verse poems. 10. Select brief passages in which there is a clear and fine relationship betwen the rhythm used and the subject of the passages. 11. Read any fifty lines you choose from Whitman with reference to his use of the average man's speech and his use sometimes of foreign words, corrupted words, and coined words. 12. What were the three senses in which Whitman used the word "I" in his poetry? 13. Turn to some of the opening passages in the Old Testament prophecies and parallel the passages from the book of Amos quoted in the text. 14. From your study of literary history or your knowledge of artists can you recall different illustrations of the "eccentricities of genius"? 15. What connection was there between Whitman's belief in the average man and his general theories about rulers and governments? 16. What was there in his theory of the bard as quoted in the text which would account for his attitude toward Emerson's advice and Swinburne's hostile criticisms? 17. In answering the following questions the Chronological Outlines at the close of Chapters XX and XXV, and Chronological Chart No. II, will be found helpful: a. What other poet's birth and death dates are within a year of being the same as Whitman's? Compare their most fruitful periods of authorship in point of time. (See Chronological Chart No. II.) b. The lives of two poets we have already discussed inclose Whitman's life. Compare their most important periods of authorship with his. c. What important work of Longfellow's appeared the same year as Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"? How much earlier than "Leaves of Grass" was the "Scarlet Letter"? "Uncle Tom's Cabin"? "Walden"? d. What historical event do you connect with the year "Drum Taps" was published? Who was Europe's greatest statesman at this time? e. About the time Whitman's most fruitful period of authorship was closing, what cession of territory took place overseas that figured largely in the World War? CHAPTER XXIII THE POETRY OF THE SOUTH SUGGESTED READINGS HENRY TIMROD. Sonnet--"I know not why, but all this weary day"; Ethnogenesis; 1866: Address to the Old Year. PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE. A Dream of the South Winds, The MockingBird, Under the Pine, The Snow-Messengers. SIDNEY LANIER. The Symphony, Sonnets of Columbus, Songs of the Chattahoochee, The Bee, The Revenge of Hamish, The Marshes of Glynn. Passages from such collections as the following: BOYNTON, P. H. Milestones in American Literature, pp. 509-549. Ginn and Company. BOYNTON, P. H. American Poetry, pp. 342-366, 449-472. Charles Scribner's Sons. CALHOUN, M. E., and MACALARNEY, E. L. Readings from American Literature, pp. 584-590, 595-601. Ginn and Company. PAGE, C. H. Chief American Poets, pp. 611-634. Houghton Mifflin Company. STEDMAN, E. C. An American Anthology, pp. 314–320, 433-440. Houghton Mifflin Company. Try to summarize in a topic or short sentence each of the four parts of "Ethnogenesis." What are the defenses of slavery in the third ? What is the national ideal in the fourth? Which of the three tributes by Hayne to fellow poets seems to you the most attractive, and why? What sins does Lanier charge to trade in "The Symphony" (11. 18-63 and 191-206)? What form of trade may he have had especially in mind in the South? What is the remedy he offers? What lines in the "Song of the Chattahoochee" show the most skillful adaptation of sound to sense? Lanier studied long to make lines 39-50 in "The Bee" faithful both to nature and to his idea of the poet. Is the metaphor an effective one? Read "The Revenge of Hamish" as an illustration of a story told just for its own sake with no attempt to apply a moral. Read "The Marshes of Glynn," keeping in mind the comparison with "Thanatopsis" mentioned on page 361. CHAPTER OUTLINE Smallness of literary output in the South Reasons for little writing and publishing As a product of the South As a Confederate poet Paul Hamilton Hayne Sidney Lanier Ancestry, home influence, and education War experience and its effects on authorship Lanier and the "New South" The appointment to Johns Hopkins University Lanier as a teacher-poet Lanier as a musician-poet Lanier as a poet of religion Conclusion Smallness of literary output in the South. The omission of Southern writers for nearly two centuries in a history of American literature is likely to mislead the unthinking reader. Certain qualifying facts should be reckoned with in drawing any conclusions. The first and most specific is that Poe, although born in Boston and largely active in Philadelphia and New York, belongs to the South. His poems and tales are without time and space, but his criticisms are often vigorously sectional; yet he was really an isolated character, speaking for himself without associates or disciples. Reasons for little writing and publishing. There are two main reasons for the comparative withdrawal of the South during a long period from the writing and publishing of poems, |