Rufus Wilmot Griswold Essays

We can all agree Walt Whitman was a man of many words, phrases and lines that made us all reread, sit and think. I was given a random part of the 1855 version of Leaves of Grass, and challenged to dissect Whitman’s writing. The first line says “I speak the password primeval….” After looking up the worked primeval in the 1844 Emily Dickinson means original. Which is why I titled this paper “Original Password”. But what is this password that Whitman is referring too? The rest of the passages seems

Macbeth by Shakespeare. Macbeth is a dark story that shows the destructive power of greed and the dangerous of allowing power to be in the hands of the wrong person. Throughout this story we witness the rise of main character Macbeth and we watch as his ambition causes him to become a person who's willing to harm even those closest to him, in order to get what he wants so he can quickly rise to the top. Macbeth in his castle is preparing to defend himself against Macduff’s army. During this

When I heard the Learn’d Astronmer Walt Whitman's poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" discusses the difference between the speaker's more emotional, experienced method and the "learn'd astronomer" dry, analytical technique. The speaker of the poem begins by stating that he used to be "weary and sick" of the astronomer's lectures because he thought they were overly specific and separated from the wonder and beauty of the night sky. The speaker says that he would like to get out of the lecture

Criticism of Craig Womack's Interpretations of Joy Harjo's Poems The earliest form of Native American literature is an oral traditional form. In the nineteenth-century, native author started to write Native American Literature. These writers write Native Literature in English because of the English taught in missionary schools. They write autobiographies and novels and combined their narratives with the Native traditional oral story or myth of their culture. When Native American Literature

Introduction Ralph Waldo Emerson and Rabindranath Tagore endeavoured for the intermingling of the alien forces of east and west. Vedanta in the east and Emerson’s idea of freedom in the west are almost parallel, they in fact talked about the freedom of humanity from darkness and the establishment of truth, light, bliss and peace. Emerson was America’s poet-prophet. He was one of the first American intellectuals who thought freely, went beyond the conventions of contemporary time, and paved the way

Published in 1865, the poem “When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” by Walt Whitman, explores the insignificance of studying the mysteries of life. Through the transition from the class lecture in the beginning to the speaker being outside alone at the end, Whitman shows the disinterest the speaker has developed in regards to studying facts. Things that are mysterious, like astronomy, should be kept a mystery. This compares to the mysteries of life. Life is interesting because we do not know everything

In the post-war period, the art of the short story flourished in American literature. Among its most respected practitioners was Flannery o’ connor who renewed the fascination of such giants as Faulkner and Twain with the American south, developing a distinctive southern gothic esthetic wherein characters acted at one level as people and at another symbols. Most of the authors interested to give many moralistic short stories in American literature. In this session we have to discuss about two short

Death can be blissful, life can be painful, immobility causes insanity, and pain causes peace. During an extremely unfortunate turn of events, Walt Whitman's poetry sadly began to reflect this brutally truthful principle. His health was on a quick decline and he was practically dead. It was later in he's life when he found peace with himself and his pain therefore pain and peace were recurring themes in his somewhat gloomy later poetry. His gloomy and dismal style was displayed with a seamless and

After reading Walt Whitman’s “When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer” I came to the following analyzations. This short essay is going to run you through my opinions on different aspects of the poem. This includes the meaning, Romantic Ideas expressed, and how the poem’s structure reinforces the meaning. In the poem the speaker is attending a lecture from a “learn’d astronomer”. The speaker is shown diagrams and calculations about astronomy. He soon becomes “tired and sick” so he leaves and goes outside

Introduction Hook: In the words of Edgar Allan Poe himself, “ With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion” Transition: Moreover, this quote supports the idea that during stressful times, writing was his coping mechanism. Thesis: Poe clearly experienced catastrophe, and because of this, literature became his creative outlet. Body Early life and young adulthood Support #1:When Poe was young, his parents died within the same week and though he knew them briefly, his perspective on death was

A major theme of “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is revenge and secrecy. Throughout the story Montresor plots and carries out his revenge against Fortunato. During the time the story takes place, protecting your family at any cost was acceptable, so to protect his family he kills Fortunato. The two characters that were introduced are Montresor and Fortunato. As the reader begins to read the story the author makes it very clear that Montresor wants revenge. The author tells us that the

Post-Modern writing often appears vague in nature, permitting the reader to infer deeper meanings upon reading the work, again and again. One feels compelled to reread the work, to better comprehend what is said in a just few sparse lines, as with Margaret Atwood’s very short poem, “You Fit into Me”. At first, the poem’s four lines appear to be deceptively simplistic in form, even a bit trite. Yet, when taking a closer look at the poem, it becomes clear that it’s so much more complex than it seems

In schools, many students may face the challenge or struggle of wanting to explore a thought or lesson on their own. However, the majority of the time, they sit in a classroom listening to lectures and doing book-work rather than learning through their own ways. The poem "When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman, tells a short story about how the author becomes very unhappy when it comes to Astronomy. In the poem, our narrator, Walt Whitman, acts as if he's bored from the lecture. Whitman

Charles Brockden Brown Criticism Responses William H. Prescott argues that Brown’s purpose “seems to be to exhibit the soul in scenes of extraordinary interests,” and backs it up by saying the poem writing tools he uses as well as Brown looking “beneath the crust of society” to “detect the rich stories of romantic and poetic interest”(Prescott 4;2). Margaret Fuller goes on and on about Brown creating a female character who is feminine but strong and compares Brown and his character to that of another

Edgar Allan Poe an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, who is also associated with the American Romantic Movement. However, he was best known for his tales of mystery and horror. He was among the earliest American authors of the short story and is usually considered as the creator of the detective-fiction genre. He is also credited for his contribution in the evolving category of science fiction. His works greatly swayed American literature and also other specialized fields like

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.” (Edgar Allan Poe) Every writer has their own style of writing. Edgar Allan Poe was best known for his fiction Gothic works. Death is one of his most recurring themes

Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “In Youth I have known one” is the title of the poem that will be literarily analyzed. Much like many of Edgar Allen Poe’s style of poetry and other works the author had written in the past, this poem is very introspective and really makes the reader think about the deeper meaning of his works. Poe like many great writers and poets struggled and his struggles help bring out the emotions and feelings in his work. The analysis will include elements of symbolism, imagery, theme