Contemporary American Poetry is Representative of Changing Trends in Literature
Hafiza Sarwat Fatima Dr. Shaheena Ayub Bhatti
5th November, 2011
Contemporary American Poetry is Representative of Changing Trends In Literature The crown of literature is poetry. It is its end and aim. It is the sublimest activity of the human mind. It is the achievement of beauty and delicacy. The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes. W. Somerset Maugham (Quotes about Poetry-Education Oasis) Poetry is the breath and soul of the literature. This magical profusion of thought and feeling-the most ancient form of expressive arts not only depicts the changing trends of time but in its very depiction, it transcends time also. In creating rhythm out of words, acquainted with the divine madness of Plato’s Ion, our poets create a new world out of the old. In this sojourn of truth and beauty, the poets enkindle the world with the beacon of the poetical utterances. This is the reason that poets like Shakespeare, Aeschylus and T.S. Eliot despite representing the contemporary literary trends remain untrammeled by the dust of the time. Modern civilization is said to have reached at its acme and so does it seem to be true of the today’s poetry-the most sophisticated form of man’s expression. But this apex is not achieved in a day. It is the convoy of innumerable twists and slips. The traces of this pilgrimage commenced when the first ‘Pilgrim’ landed at Plymouth. Who knew that this small convoy of few members under Captain Adam Smith will turn out to be world’s largest reading community? After passing through many ebb and flows of time, American poetry like its civilization has reached to a state which is called ‘complex and mature’. The road of American literature is filled with the dynamic literary movements, intertwined with the historical changes emerging out of the multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic American society. Ralph Emerson said about this multiculturalism in Vol. IIV of the
5th November, 2011
Contemporary American Poetry is Representative of Changing Trends In Literature The crown of literature is poetry. It is its end and aim. It is the sublimest activity of the human mind. It is the achievement of beauty and delicacy. The writer of prose can only step aside when the poet passes. W. Somerset Maugham (Quotes about Poetry-Education Oasis) Poetry is the breath and soul of the literature. This magical profusion of thought and feeling-the most ancient form of expressive arts not only depicts the changing trends of time but in its very depiction, it transcends time also. In creating rhythm out of words, acquainted with the divine madness of Plato’s Ion, our poets create a new world out of the old. In this sojourn of truth and beauty, the poets enkindle the world with the beacon of the poetical utterances. This is the reason that poets like Shakespeare, Aeschylus and T.S. Eliot despite representing the contemporary literary trends remain untrammeled by the dust of the time. Modern civilization is said to have reached at its acme and so does it seem to be true of the today’s poetry-the most sophisticated form of man’s expression. But this apex is not achieved in a day. It is the convoy of innumerable twists and slips. The traces of this pilgrimage commenced when the first ‘Pilgrim’ landed at Plymouth. Who knew that this small convoy of few members under Captain Adam Smith will turn out to be world’s largest reading community? After passing through many ebb and flows of time, American poetry like its civilization has reached to a state which is called ‘complex and mature’. The road of American literature is filled with the dynamic literary movements, intertwined with the historical changes emerging out of the multicultural, multiracial and multiethnic American society. Ralph Emerson said about this multiculturalism in Vol. IIV of the
Cited: Allman, Richard. "Intrduction." The New Oxford Book of American Verse. New York: Oxford UP, 1976. Para 1. Pria celebration of new man in American poetry, the making up a composite American 20th century poetnt. Bailey, Thomas . A., and David M. Kennedy. "Ch.42." The American Pageant. 8th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Heatht and, 1987. 842. Print. Bailey, Thomas A., and David M. Kennedy. "Ch.44." The American Pageant. 8th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Heath and, 1987. 883. Print. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Journals of Ralph Emerson with Annotations." Journal Entry IIV.1845 (1912): 116. Print. Maugham, W. Somerset. "Quotes About Poetry." Education Oasis. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. . Spanckeren, Kathryn Van. "Ch.7." Outlines of American Literature. Revised ed. United States: U.S. Department of State, 2006. 105. Print. "What Is an American Literature-An Overview." Telling the Story of American Literature. Comp. Pdf. 6. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. .