English 4
Literary Analysis
Assignment: Choose two poems we have not discussed in class, and establish a connection between them based on either theme or style/technique. Compare and contrast the poems, using an analytical approach.
[Instructor comments appear in bold, italic font within brackets below.]
Committed to a Cause
“John Brown’s Body” (an excerpt only) by Stephen Vincent Benet is a poem full of powerful imagery that delves deeply into the emotional state of a man whose life mission was the abolishment of slavery. Benet creates vivid visual imagery that captures the spirit and commitment of John Brown through his trials and tribulations. By contrast, “The Master” by Edwin Arlington Robinson, takes a more abstract route into President Lincoln’s intellect. One eventually comes to know this great man as he tenaciously handles the challenges that constantly confront him. Both Benet and Robinson use the narrative format as the framework for their poems. However, it is the creative use of different poetic devices that highlight Brown’s and Lincoln’s determination to hold to their ideals in the face of adversity. [Good introduction and clear thesis.]
The speaker in “The Master” appears to be a collective group of critics who scrutinize and judge Lincoln’s motives and actions at every turn. Their tone is one of ridicule and skepticism that eventually changes over time to respect and admiration as emphasized early in the poem “To be reviled and then revered” (1:4). The imagery is mostly abstract in form: we must conceptualize the verbal debates that raged around Lincoln in his efforts to unify our nation. Robinson gives us a picture of Lincoln as a patient leader deeply pondering over issues that divided our nation.
The voice of an anonymous speaker presents an overview of Brown’s life events like an attorney’s closing argument. Facts are laid out, asking the reader to draw a conclusion and render a verdict. This is a clever presentation of the setting, which is just after Brown’s trial while he awaits the consequences of a botched plan that shouldn’t have gone wrong.
Robinson structures “The Master” as a ballad in eight stanzas / eight lines / eight syllables per line. With alternating lines of rhymes, the scheme is ab, ab, cd, cd, ef, ef. Word choices have rhyming sounds that vary the texture but have cohesiveness through employment of assonance with at least 4 lines of each stanza carrying similar ending vowel sounds. [Does this have an impact on the poem’s effectiveness? If so, how?] Now consider Benet’s structuring of “John Brown’s Body.” It falls beyond the convention of any one poetic form. Its narrative framework most closely resembles traditional blank verse as Benet creates a conversational tone with the reader through a device he calls “a long rough line”. [Direct quotes like this should have a citation in MLA format]
Robinson reveals Lincoln’s fortitude through his ability to withstand a hostile, political climate, “sneered” (1:2) and “jeered” (1:7) by those who doubted his leadership ability. At times, “when days were perilous” (1:9), he held steadfast in his consideration of weighty matters before him; he was at peace with the decisions made – “reconciled” (1:12) so to speak. “He knew devoutly of what he thought” (1:21). Personification is used to contrast Lincoln’s mild temperament as being “untamable” (1:14) like some unreasoning animal. His opponents imply he couldn’t be reasoned with to follow their preferred course of action. His faith in his principles, regardless of how he was attacked, was unshakable. His understanding of everything at stake is shown through use of a simile likening the “gentlemen who jeered” (1:7) to “little children in a school” (1:24). [Very nice.]
Benet’s strong use of imagery brings Brown’s dedication and commitment alive. John Brown had the gift of leadership. [The transition from the last paragraph could be a bit stronger.] Benet uses an allusion to Jesus’ ability to draw people to him when he states “He had the shepherd’s gift” (1:11). Brown was a passionate advocate against the institution of slavery, that “polar star” (1:36), with a mindset so clearly defined that his ardor and conviction was often taken as fanaticism. “And with a certain minor-prophet air, / That fooled the world to thinking him half-great” (1:28-29), he motivated people to take up the cause to fight against slavery with the use of arms. This was a new, bold and challenging stand contrasting the prevailing practice of pacifist abolitionism. He was a “cloudy apostle” (1:24) who moved people to action and away from a passive intellectual position.
Strong symbolism portrays Lincoln as “The saddest among kings of earth” (1:45). He came to the presidency with wisdom and understanding of human nature that implies he was born “ancient” (1:44); he didn’t age under the strain of his office. What continually mystified his critics was although his “crown” (2:46) was bitter and vexing, he managed light-hearted decorum. He was “(l)aconic and Olympian,” (2:48) handling the matters of the executive office with a concise, lofty detachment.
Benet uses a type of reverse personification by ascribing to Brown various stone-like qualities. He calls Brown “A stone eroded to a cutting edge” (1:18) by his life experiences. Brown suffers bankruptcy. He challenges state governments on their right to establish slave states. He is involved in what many classify as one of five key events that led to the beginning of the Civil War, when he assumed the alias of Shubel Morgan and led the Pottawattomie Massacre expedition (which took place in Lawrence, Kansas in May,1865). [An MLA citation should go here, too] Benet further incorporates repetition and the use of metaphors in a continued examination of Brown’s resolve that became the impetus for social change:
Sometimes there comes a crack in Time itself.
Sometimes the earth is torn by something blind. (1:33-34)
No one believed that the actions of this one man would have such an impact on
our nation, but everyone in “every State in the Union” (1:56) now
knew John Brown. Metaphorically, Benet called Brown’s resolve “God
or Fate” (1:39), “it was a force (that) exists and moves”
(1:41). Even after his execution, his spirit was a catalyst to “change
the actual scheme of things” (1:45). He was committed to his cause in
spite of his failures in life. He was committed when he was his only “advocate”
(1:31).
John Brown and Abraham Lincoln were heroic men, possessed of determination
and perseverance to their ideals. Their characters epitomized strength and fortitude.
Their resolve is captured in the poetry that focused attention on Brown’s
and Lincoln’s commitment. As poets, Robinson’s and Benet’s
styles greatly differ but accomplished the same goal. These poems reveal the
heart and spirit of John Brown and Abraham Lincoln standing fast in the face
of extreme opposition. [This paragraph could be developed a bit
more. What can the average reader learn from these poems?]
Works Cited
Benet, Stephen Vincent. John Brown’s Body. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston, Inc., 1927
www.mhhe.com/socscience/history/usa/david/olc/200.html [Internet sources need a complete entry as well.]
Instructor end comment:
[You have done some very nice work here. Your introduction makes
the thesis clear, and you stay on topic throughout the essay. You present a
clear, self-assured voice and an engaging, thorough analysis.]