Themes of American Poetry

Themes of American Poetry
The American poetry began to emerge in 19th century when the declaration of American
independence made American poets realized to search their own poetic models and traditions
different from Britishers . Therefore , the American poetry is truly seen as a reflection of the
voice of American people exploring the themes of isolation , science , identity , liberty ,
democracy and individuality etc .
1- Theme of Individuality :
American individualism is one of the most significant themes in American poetry
as it gives each individual the chance to pursue their life on their own as independent
being . For example , In Walt Whitman’s poem Song Of Myself , he describes the beauty
of individual in a unique way by saying that “I celebrate myself / And sing myself” in
which Whitman considers himself as individual being by using personal pronoun (I) that
emphasizing how the characteristics of each individual make them unique and different
from each other in society .
2- Theme of Democracy :
American poems also celebrate the theme of democracy as a way for individuals
to integrate their beliefs into their everyday lives . For example , throughout the poem
Song Of Myself , Whitman gives emphasis on equality of all men and women by saying
that “I speak the pass-word / I give the sign of democracy” showing that democracy is
not just a political system for him but as a way of experiencing the world which is
expressed through his pen is actually a picture of how he is asserting a new democratic
identity for American people after independence through his poetry .
3- Theme of Liberty :
American liberty is the most common theme present in almost in every poem
where the poets desire to have life full of freedom free from the restrictions imposed by
society such as in Walt Whitman’s poem Song Of Myself , he describes freedom given to
all people regardless of their races , creeds or social orders by saying that “Of every hue
and caste am I / Of every religion and rank / A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman,
sailor / Prisoner, fancy man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest” expressing that how he
raises his voice to get freedom not only in religion but in almost every aspect of life .
4- Theme of Science :
Many American writers used science as a tool to express inner world in new
ways that existed outside of ordinary experience . That ordinary experience can only be
explained in terms of sensations , feelings and thoughts outside the range of physical
experience . For example , in Dickinson’s poetry Because I could not stop for death , she
describes an unordinary state outside the range of ordinary state by saying that “It was
not death , for I stood up” describing that this state resembles death but it is not actually
death rather it represents in terms of temperature when she assumes “It was not frost for
on my flesh / I felt Siroccos – crawl / Nor fire for just my marble feet / Could keep a
chancel cool” reflecting that her study of chemistry revealed her technique for measuring
extreme temperatures beyond the range of human sensation for describing an extreme
emotional experience by comparing it with warm and cold state of temperatures .
5- Theme of Isolation :
Most of the American poems deal with individual’s isolation from the society
such as in T.S Eliot’s poem The Love Song Of J.Alfred Prufrock , he describes modern
man as lonely being by saying that “Yellow smoke that slides along the street, rubbing
itself against the windows / I’ve walked in the evening through narrow streets and
watched lonely men leaning out of windows” representing that how he rarely interacts
with the people as the smog seems more alive to him than the people themselves .
To conclude , the distinctive features of all the American poets in their poetries make American
literature look distinct from Europeon literature which is truly an image of American history and
their unique culture .

Themes of American Poetry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Themes of American Poetry

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Read this document in other languages

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Themes of American Poetry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Themes of American Poetry

You might also like