Erin’s Daughter and Proto-Romanticism

In the poem “Erin’s Daughter” written by Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney there can be seem a since of Proto-Romanticism. “Erin’s Daughter” is about a young woman who returns home just after the disastrous potato famine in the mid- 1840’s in Ireland, where she discovers that her whole family has died because of the famine. This can be seen by her use of emotions, and divine spirit in nature.
The emotions the beginnings of the poem are quite sad she is homesick for her family and homeland. “Poor Erin’s daughter cross’d the main … A lot of servitude to bear” In the first stanza the reader can see that she is unhappy to be traveling to the west for it is for her to become some type of servant. “For still with earnest hope…And from her parents lift the load of poverty severe” she had hope of her family to take care of her when she returned because she saw how hard life could really be and was homesick to be her parents’ child again. The use of the emotions in this piece is what motivates the reader to feel what the author has meant for them to feel for the poem, it brings the reader to look upon their lives and see the resemblance of themselves in the girl that life can be rough and that you are never too old to feel the same fears as a child or youth. “To them with liberal hand she went… She ne’er had felt before” her emotion of joy is over flowing for she is excited to be back with those she loves. She is blissful in the fact she has no known knowledge of what has happened to everyone while she was away in the west. She continues with her happy thoughts and daydreams of what she will find upon her return home. The reader can feel the happiness that she feels about the idea of seeing her family again about what love the family share for each other that they are a close knit group.
In the last two stanzas’ it is revealed at last what has happened to her family. The reader can feel the pain and sorrow that the girl goes through and the sad disappointment at not