Poetic Imagery and Political Realities

20^th century poetry changed what the idea for what was proper poetry. During this time imagery was one of the main focuses while writing poetry. Many authors made this a main focus in their works. Some of those authors were Carl Sandburg, Amy Lowell, and William Carlos Williams. Using imagery these authors discussed several different topics including their political views and insight on what was going on in the time period.

William Carlos Williams used imagery in many of his poems. One poem that is a good example of his use of imagery while discussing his view on the politics at the time is “Tract”. In this poem he vividly describes a funeral and the traditions of the funeral service. He describes each aspect of the funeral with a sense of disgust. Throughout the poem readers get the idea that he is not only talking about the formality of a funeral but also the routines of people in the society at the time, as if they are not being genuine. For example, when he is discussing the driver of the hearse it seems like he could be talking about the leaders in America, “For heaven’s sake though see to the driver!/ Take off the silk hat! In fact/ that’s no place at all for him-/ up there unceremoniously/ dragging our friend out to his own dignity!...” (Williams, 1916, p. 1563). This insinuates that he thinks in some ways the government does that to its people.

Amy Lowell is another poet that used imagery in a large part of her poetry. In the poem “Patterns” she describes a women walking in a garden thinking about her “pattern” in the society that she lives in. As she goes through the garden she paints a picture of the person that she is supposed to be in society’s opinion. “My dress is richly figured,/ and the train/ makes a pink and silver stain/ On the gravel, and the thrift… The dripping never stops./ Underneath my stiffened gown/ is the softness of a woman bathing in a marble basin…” (Lowell, 1916, p. 1533). As she describes her pattern and then how it contrasts to the background it makes the reader see that she has a more harsh reality then what society thinks she has.

Lowell continues her imagery throughout the entire poem. About halfway through she starts to discuss the main characters fiancé that was killed as a soldier. This part shows how much the war during the time effected people and their lives. It emphasizes that because of this, and the pattern her fiancé was expected to keep he died and she could not be with him anymore. “In a month he would have been my husband./ In a month, here, underneath this lime,/ We would have broken the pattern/…/Now he is dead.” (Lowell, 1916, p. 1534).

Another poem by Lowell that she uses imagery describing the time period that she lived in called “A Decade”. In this poem she describes how she views the decade in a small amount of words. Even though the poem is short it gives the reader a very vivid picture of her view of the decade that she is describing. “When you came, you were like red wine and honey,/ And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness./…/ (Now) I hardly taste you at all for I know your savour,/ But I am completely nourished.” (Lowell, 1919, p. 1535). In this small amount of words the reader understands how bitter sweet the decade that she lived in was.

Carl Sandburg is another author that uses imagery to describe the time after war. One poem is called “Fog”. This is a short poem that talks about a cat in the fog, it’s shortness makes the reader see that the time after the war is like the cat in the fog just coming and going. “The fog comes; on little cat feet./ It sits looking/ over harbor and city/ on silent haunches/ and then moves on.” (Sandburg, 1916, p. 1464). As the reader reads the poem they can clearly imagine the cat coming and going in the fog just as the time of peace came and went for the people.

            Another poem that Sandburg wrote that he uses imagery to describe this decade is “Grass”. In this poem he discusses how grass covers all of the signs of war, including the bodies of the dead. “Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo./ Shovel them under and let me work-/ I am the grass; I cover all.” This part shows that the grass does not care what it covers and where it grows. Even though people do care nature does not. In these short stanzas the reader understands that. “Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now?/ I am the grass./ Let me work.” (Sandburg, 1918, p. 1465). In the last part the reader sees that the time passes and that a place that was once significant, no one in the present knows that significance anymore.

            “Southern Pacific” is another poem that Sandburg wrote using imagery describing the time period. In this poem he discusses the difference between classes and the similarities. Sandburg shows in form and in imagery how alike and how different the two men from the time period. “Huntington sleeps in a house six feet long./ Huntington dreams of railroads he built and owned… Blithery sleeps in a house six feet long./ Blithery dreams of rails and ties he laid.”(Sandburg, 1918, p. 1466). In these lines the reader gets the image of how similar and how different the classes of this time period were.

            William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell, and Carl Sandburg were all very talented imagery poets. The imagery helped readers understand the time period and how to envision life during that time. It also made how people felt during the time period clearer. Because these poets expressed themselves in this way, people of today are still able to experience and better understand how things were in that time and learn from it.

References

Lowell, A. (1916). Patterns. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tadition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1532-1535). New York: McGrall Hill.

Lowell, A. (1919). A Decade. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., p. 1535). New York: McGrall Hill.

Sandburg, C. (1916). Fog. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in literature (12 th ed., p. 1464). New York: McGrall Hill.

Sandburg, C. (1918). Carl Sandburg, “Southern Pacific”. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in literature (12th ed., p. 1466). New York, NC: McGraw Hill.

Sandburg, C. (1918). Grass. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), Grass (12th ed., p. 1465). New York: McGrall Hill.

Williams, W. C. (1916). Tract. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelans, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1562-1563). New York: McGrall Hill.

Lowell vs. Lowell

            Like one big family poets have similarities and differences. Some are vast and some are not. Amy Lowell and Robert Lowell are not only both poets but also they are related. The differences and similarities in their poems range from their form to the subjects that they discuss, thus making an interesting comparison.  Giving the reader deeper insight in how their backgrounds affect their writing and how that is portrayed in their writing.

            Amy Lowell was born into a wealthy family in Brookline. She attended private schools during her early education and also was educated by governesses and European travel. Needless to say she was well educated and well off from the start. Once she hit her twenties, she started to work harder on her poetry and had her first poet published at thirty-eight. She was the most popular during the First World War (Perkins & Perkins, 2010, p. 1532)

            A. Lowell had a unique style that made readers attracted to her poetry. One of the main things is her form in them. She seemed to have a visual pattern that she followed in her line length that went medium, shortest, short, longest, long, medium, long, medium, long, short, ect. This line length one can see almost throughout the entire poem “Patterns” and also in “A Decade”. (Lowell, 1916, p. 1534) (Lowell, 1919, p. 1535)

            The form in her poems is not the only thing that was unique to A. Lowell. The subjects that she discussed in the way that she does are also unique. In her poem “Patterns” she discusses one of the time periods main concerns, which was war and how it affected the people in the United States. The way she portrays the main character and how the story plays out it makes out the girl and her lover to be victims of the war. In her poem “A Decade” she also discusses main concerns of the time period and displays how people feel about what is going on around them. Reading these two poems the reader gets a good sense for what the people of the time period thought and believed about their society.

            One of the main things that one looks at after knowing A. Lowells background is her wealth. Coming from wealth many people would assume that it would affect her writing. Looking farther into her writing and her topics one is drawn to the conclusion that her wealth affects her perspective on things. This is mostly displayed in her poem “Patterns”.  Throughout the poem it seems as though the girl is similar to A. Lowell herself, she is well off and somewhat sheltered from the world. That is why the girl feels as though she is a victim of what has happened. If this poem was written from a person’s point of view that was not wealthy it may have focused more on how they were going to survive after the lover’s death. (Lowell, 1916, p. 1534)

            Robert Lowell was raised very similar to Amy as that he was also born into wealth and was well educated. Like Amy he attended Harvard University. He was first published in his late twenties and two years later won a Pulitzer Prize. Unlike Amy Lowell he had a little bit earlier start and a family history of literature and poetry. (Perkins & Perkins, 2010, p. 1859)

            R. Lowell’s poems are very similar in form in comparison to A. Lowell. He seems to follow the same pattern in line length: medium, shortest, short, longest, long, medium, long, medium, long, short, ect. This is noticeable in almost all of his poems including “For the Union Dead”, “Skunk Hour”, and “The Neo-Classical Urn”. (Lowell, 1960, p. 1865)

            Many of R. Lowell’s poems are also about important topics during the time period. Even though he does not seem to focus on that in all of his poems like A. Lowell does, one poem that he does is “For the Union Dead”. He seems to try to keep a large variety of subjects in his works. In doing this the reader gets a better understanding as to how he feels regarding a variety of different subjects.

            In R. Lowell’s writing it seems as though he is less sheltered than A. Lowell. The reader sees this in the topics that he discusses and also the way that he describes them. The fact that they lived in different time periods could be part of that. Another aspect of that could be because A. Lowell is a female and lived a more sheltered life because of that.

            Both Amy Lowell and Robert Lowell wrote amazing and inspiring poetry. They influenced people and taught them about the way life was during their time. With similar yet different lifestyles so is their poetry similar but different. The similarities are what make the reader think, and the differences are what make the reader intrigued. Making both poets famous for what they do and how their writing effects people then and now.

 

 

 

 

References

Lowell, A. (1916). Patterns. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1532-1535). New York: McGraw Hill.

Lowell, A. (1919). A Decade. In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., p. 1535). New York: McGraw Hill.

Lowell, R. (1960). For the Union Dead. In B. Perkins, G. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1864-1867). McGraw Hill: New York.

Perkins, B., & Perkins, G. (2010). Robert Lowell (1917-1977). In G. Lowell, B. Lowell, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1858-1860). New York: McGraw Hill.

Perkins, G., & Perkins, B. (2010). Amy Lowell (1874-1925). In G. Perkins, B. Perkins, J. Phelan, & E. Renker (Eds.), The American Tradition in Literature (12th ed., pp. 1531-1532). New York: McGraw Hill.