Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
John Greenleaf Whittier's "Ichabod"
To understand the poem "Ichabod," it is necessary to understand the historical context that led John Greenleaf Whittier to write it. Whittier was a poet who lived in New Hampshire during the 1800s, during a time when the slavery issue in the United States was a matter of serious and heated debate. Although he was white, Whittier was very strongly against slavery. However in New Hampshire, which had originally been a slavery state, there were many people who were still in favor of it. The poem was written in 1850 after a speech was delivered by the politician Daniel Webster, who publicly announced that he was in favor of a law known as the Missouri Compromise.
The Missouri Compromise was a law that would allow the practice of slavery to continue, and Whittier felt angry and betrayed by Webster for his decision to support the act. His anger was particularly severe because he had once considered Webster a friend. In addition to this, Webster's personal stand was against slavery; yet despite his own beliefs, he supported...
For Webster, the support of this measure was the lesser evil; he felt that it would keep the Union together. Apparently, for Whittier and many like him, it was the most heinous of treacheries to go against one's one convictions to support an inhumane practice. Because of this, Whittier wrote the poem to express all the negative emotions he felt towards Webster ("Whittier's Anti-Slavery Ode to New Hampshire").
The bitter language of glory lost and the sting of betrayal can be seen throughout the poem. The first stanza of the poem opens with the words "So fallen! so lost!" These reflect the loss of respect and esteem Whittier felt for his former friend after hearing him deliver a speech in favor of the Missouri Compromise. The fact that he once felt respect for Webster is clear in the lines "the light withdrawn/Which he once wore! The glory from his gray hairs gone/Forevermore!" In the second stanza, Whittier implies that Webster has fallen so far from grace, that even "scorn and wrath" are too good for him.…
References
Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 4: John Greenleaf Whittier" PAL: Perspectives in American
Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Retrieved electronically on May 6, 2012 from http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/whittier.html
"Whittier's Anti-Slavery Ode to New Hampshire." Retrieved electronically on May 6, 2012 from http://www.seacoastnh.com/blackhistory/whittier.html
American Literature "Song of Myself" stanzas 1-21 by Walt Whitman Pride in the self and one's perseverance at life "I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. "I am satisfied -- I see, dance, laugh, sing;" Equality and the view of American lands "And it means, sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, growing among black folks as
Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" The Road Not Taken Although readers have a tendency to miss this element from the poem, the title is probably the largest giveaway, particularly with the Poem, "Road Not Taken." A lot of individuals have got the idea that The Road Not Taken is actually a good poem about simply being different as well as choosing the road that no individual will take; that it
The remainder of the poem assumes a more regularly rhythmic form, although the meter is not strict. Some of the remaining lines and stanzas follow an iambic hexameter, such as stanza three. However, many of the lines are in anapestic hexameter, or contain combinations of various meters. The poet inserts dactylic and anapestic feet along with iambic and also trochaic ones for intensity and variation, much as one would
Thomas Hardy's Poem "The Voice" The title of Thomas Hardy's poem "The Voice" reveals a lot about its mode of delivery. The audible whispers of the woman calling, calling are conveyed to the reader through literary devices such as rhyme and rhythm. The voice of the woman is translated into the voice of the poet. "The voice" of the woman becomes a symbol of the narrator's memory, which is tainted by
Unfair Robert Francis was an American poet whose work is reminiscent of Robert Francis, his mentor. Francis' writing has often compared to other writers such as Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Henry David Thoreau. Although Francis's work has frequently been neglected and is "often excluded from major anthologies of American poetry," those that have read his work have praised him and his writing. In "Fair and Unfair," Francis comments on balance
Your answer should be at least five sentences long. The Legend of Arthur Lesson 1 Journal Entry # 9 of 16 Journal Exercise 1.7A: Honor and Loyalty 1. Consider how Arthur's actions and personality agree with or challenge your definition of honor. Write a few sentences comparing your definition (from Journal 1.6A) with Arthur's actions and personality. 2. Write a brief paragraph explaining the importance or unimportance of loyalty in being honorable. Lesson 1 Journal