Historical Poetry

Historical Poetry

Historical Poetry is a sub-genre of poetry that has its roots in history. Its aim is to delineate events of the past by incorporating elements of artful composition and poetic diction. It seems that many of these events are limited to the phenomenon of war, merely because war in and of itself foments not only hostilities amongst men, but also severely transposes the character of a society in general. Take the poetry of Walt Whitman, for instance. Whitman's poetry reflects scenes of the American Civil War which he lived through.

In addition, figurative devices such as alliteration, assonance, metaphor, and simile are invariably used to layer these historical poems with expanding, enriching meanings.

Appeal

The interpretation of a historical poem is a matter of much wider significance, particularly because it is linked to poetic intention. As Cleanth Brooks writes in "The Formalist Critics",

"the author's intention as realized is the 'intention' that counts, not necessarily what he was conscious of trying to do, or what he now remembers he was then trying to do".
To add to this, the purpose of a historical poem serves various ulterior motives. One of these motives might include informing the audience at the time of present events.

Historical Poems

These include the works of authors that embody particular events in history, notably gripping war scenes. A few examples of such poems include:

*"Civil War" by: Charles Dawson Shanly
*"O Captain! My Captain!" by: Walt Whitman
*"Come Up From the Fields, Father" by: Walt Whitman
*"The Blue and the Gray" by: Francis Miles Finch
*"A Message" by: Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward
*"Boston" by: Ralph Waldo Emerson
*"The Eve of Waterloo" by: Lord Byron
*"Shiloh: A Requiem (April, 1862)" by: Herman Melville

References

# "An Anthology of War Poetry", Royal Society of Arts, Journal 91:4649 (1943:Oct. 1)
# Austin, Alfred (1870), "The Poetry of the Period"
# Brooks, Cleanth (1951), "The Formalist Critics"
# Hand, Harry E., "And War Be Done: Battle-Pieces and Other Civil War Poetry of Herman Melville"
# Lomas, Herbert, "The Critic as Anti-Hero: War Poetry"
# Richards, I.A. (1924), "The Analysis of a Poem" (in, "Principles of Literary Criticism")
# Seaman, Owen, "How to Review War Poetry"


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