an essay on poetry and the development of humanity

Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Blog

MEET THE BLOGGERS

Defining the Role of Poetry in Society: The Ongoing Conversation

an essay on poetry and the development of humanity

I highly doubt regular followers of this blog need any convincing that poetry is a valuable thing—I can’t imagine you’d be reading further if you thought otherwise! However, that doesn’t mean questioning the current role of poetry in society is a pointless endeavor. At a time when only 4 percent of all arts funding in America comes from public sources , reevaluating the role of poetry (and all arts, truly) in society at large is a very relevant project both for newcomers and seasoned veterans alike. But in order to determine what poetry’s role in society is/should be, we first need to construct a working definition of what poetry is : “ writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm .”

In a time in which we are taking care to emphasize traditionally underrepresented narratives of groups of people more and more, I believe it is poetry’s ability to relay awareness of experience that cements its role in society at large. In addition to arts programs being severely underfunded, there is also a lack of diversity . For example: as of 2015 only 5% of funding for Latinx and African-American arts organizations came from individual donations . Since poetry is focused on relaying experience in a highly salient way, there is great potential for it to be utilized as a means to build empathy and bridge gaps of understanding between people who come from differing backgrounds. In this way poetry can be a vehicle for messages of social justice.

However, this is not to say the sole purpose of poetry is to serve as social commentary. In a highly thought-provoking piece, the Poetry Foundation interviewed a few poets to probe their thoughts concerning the societal role of poetry. Stephen Burt , poet and professor at Harvard University–and former Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards judge–explains: “Compared to the writing of poetry, few other human activities take place so widely, at least in America, absent even a tacit consensus as to why we do them, what good they do, [and] what function they serve.” Poet Daisy Fried expands upon the idea: “But politically-alert poetry is no more intrinsically useful than any other poetry…the kind of poetry written to make us feel better, for example” along with poet and professor Major Jackson : “The function of poetry is that it does not have any function beyond its own construction and being-in-the-world.”

These statements hint implicitly at an idea I often hear musicians invoke when discussing their motivations for creating art: that art is truly valuable in and of itself—irrespective of any concept of role or “purpose”. The mere fact that any person moving about the world can stumble upon your art and recognize something in it that reminds them of their own humanity; this act of reciprocal aesthetic experience enriching the lives of people alone makes creating art worthwhile for many artists of varying forms. Another idea I find implicit in these statements is that, while poetry can be an effective means for bringing our attention towards and better conceptualizing injustices, it can also play a dual-role in helping us cope with such injustices.

Unfortunately, a good number of social justice issues are not able to be solved overnight, much less within a few years. In this way, the cathartic role of poetry is even more important than a social commentary one. So perhaps there is no singular role for poetry. Rather, poetry is meant to be our companion throughout every stage of societal awareness. This is evidenced through poetry’s multi-faceted ability to inspire us to action, highlight a previously unknown narrative, make us think critically, or simply to allow us to feel our humanity. In Conversations on the Craft of Poetry (1961, poet Robert Frost said, “Poetry is what is lost in translation.”

Whether a particular poem translates the human ephemeral phenomenological experience in general into words, or translates the experience of one group of people to another, one thing is for certain: poetry isn’t going away anytime soon. Like society itself, it is likely that the role of poetry will be forever-changing—adapting itself to the needs of society as poets see fit, and as the human experience necessitates. I will close with an excerpt from What the Living Do by Marie Howe:

Truly, poetry can help remind us all we are alive.

—Michael Kemp

Poetry & Community
Google Plus

The Poetic Principle: Poe on Truth, Love, Reason, and the Human Impulse for Beauty

By maria popova.

Arguably the most compelling answer ever given comes from Edgar Allan Poe in his essay “The Poetic Principle,” which he penned at the end of his life. It was published posthumously in 1850 and can be found in the fantastic Library of America volume Edgar Allan Poe: Essays and Reviews ( public library ), which also gave us Poe’s priceless praise of marginalia .

Poe begins with an unambiguous definition of the purpose of poetry:

A poem deserves its title only inasmuch as it excites, by elevating the soul. The value of the poem is in the ratio of this elevating excitement. But all excitements are, through a psychal necessity, transient. That degree of excitement which would entitle a poem to be so called at all, cannot be sustained throughout a composition of any great length. After the lapse of half an hour, at the very utmost, it flags — fails — a revulsion ensues — and then the poem is, in effect, and in fact, no longer such.

And yet, he argues, this isn’t necessarily how we judge poetic merit — he takes a prescient jab against our present “A for effort” cultural mindset to remind us that the measure of genius isn’t dogged time investment but actual creative quality:

It is to be hoped that common sense, in the time to come, will prefer deciding upon a work of Art, rather by the impression it makes — by the effect it produces — than by the time it took to impress the effect, or by the amount of “sustained effort” which had been found necessary in effecting the impression. The fact is, that perseverance is one thing and genius quite another

(It’s interesting that he uses the term “sustained effort” more than a century and a half before the findings of modern psychology, which has upgraded the term to “deliberate practice” to illustrate the qualitative difference in the effort necessary for achieving genius-level skill .)

After discussing a couple of examples of poems that elevate the soul, Poe takes a stab at what he considers to be the most perilous cultural misconception about poetry and its aim, a fallacy that profoundly betrays the poetic spirit:

It has been assumed, tacitly and avowedly, directly and indirectly, that the ultimate object of all Poetry is Truth. Every poem, it is said, should inculcate a moral; and by this moral is the poetical merit of the work to be adjudged. We Americans especially have patronized this happy idea; and we Bostonians, very especially, have developed it in full. We have taken it into our heads that to write a poem simply for the poem’s sake, and to acknowledge such to have been our design, would be to confess ourselves radically wanting in the true poetic dignity and force: — but the simple fact is, that, would we but permit ourselves to look into our own souls we should immediately there discover that under the sun there neither exists nor can exist any work more thoroughly dignified — more supremely noble than this very poem — this poem per se — this poem which is a poem and nothing more — this poem written solely for the poem’s sake.

He goes on to outline a dispositional diagram of the human mind, a kind of conceptual phrenology that segments out the trifecta of mental faculties:

Dividing the world of mind into its three most immediately obvious distinctions, we have the Pure Intellect, Taste, and the Moral Sense. I place Taste in the middle, because it is just this position which, in the mind, it occupies. It holds intimate relations with either extreme; but from the Moral Sense is separated by so faint a difference that Aristotle has not hesitated to place some of its operations among the virtues themselves. Nevertheless, we find the offices of the trio marked with a sufficient distinction. Just as the Intellect concerns itself with Truth, so Taste informs us of the Beautiful while the Moral Sense is regardful of Duty. Of this latter, while Conscience teaches the obligation, and Reason the expediency, Taste contents herself with displaying the charms: — waging war upon Vice solely on the ground of her deformity — her disproportion — her animosity to the fitting, to the appropriate, to the harmonious — in a word, to Beauty.

(I wonder whether Susan Sontag was thinking about Poe when she wrote in her diary that “intelligence … is really a kind of taste: taste in ideas.” )

Beauty, Poe argues, is the highest of those human drives, and the domain where poetry dwells:

An immortal instinct, deep within the spirit of man, is thus, plainly, a sense of the Beautiful. This it is which administers to his delight in the manifold forms, and sounds, and odors, and sentiments amid which he exists. And just as the lily is repeated in the lake, or the eyes of Amaryllis in the mirror, so is the mere oral or written repetition of these forms, and sounds, and colors, and odors, and sentiments, a duplicate source of delight. […] The struggle to apprehend the supernal Loveliness — this struggle, on the part of souls fittingly constituted — has given to the world all that which it (the world) has ever been enabled at once to understand and to feel as poetic.

Acknowledging that the poetic sentiment may manifest itself in forms other than poetry — art, sculpture, dance, architecture — he points to music (“Music”) as an especially sublime embodiment of the Poetic Principle:

It is in Music, perhaps, that the soul most nearly attains the great end for which, when inspired by the Poetic Sentiment, it struggles — the creation of supernal Beauty. It may be, indeed, that here this sublime end is, now and then, attained in fact . We are often made to feel, with a shivering delight, that from an earthly harp are stricken notes which cannot have been unfamiliar to the angels. And thus there can be little doubt that in the union of Poetry with Music in its popular sense, we shall find the widest field for the Poetic development.

(Again, I wonder whether Poe was on Susan Sontag’s mind when she wrote that “music is at once the most wonderful, the most alive of all the arts,” or on Edna St. Vincent Millay’s when she exclaimed, “Without music I should wish to die. Even poetry, Sweet Patron Muse forgive me the words, is not what music is.” )

Poe returns to the subject of beauty as the ultimate source of this “Poetic Sentiment” in all its varied expressions with an argument that rings all the more poignant and stirring today, in an age when we question whether pleasure alone can make literature worthwhile . Poe writes:

That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating, and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the Beautiful. In the contemplation of Beauty we alone find it possible to attain that pleasurable elevation, or excitement, of the soul , which we recognize as the Poetic Sentiment, and which is so easily distinguished from Truth, which is the satisfaction of the Reason, or from Passion, which is the excitement of the heart. I make Beauty, therefore — using the word as inclusive of the sublime — I make Beauty the province of the poem, simply because it is an obvious rule of Art that effects should be made to spring as directly as possible from their causes: — no one as yet having been weak enough to deny that the peculiar elevation in question is at least most readily attainable in the poem. It by no means follows, however, that the incitements of Passion, or the precepts of Duty, or even the lessons of Truth, may not be introduced into a poem, and with advantage; for they may subserve, incidentally, in various ways, the general purposes of the work: — but the true artist will always contrive to tone them down in proper subjection to that Beauty which is the atmosphere and the real essence of the poem.

He then offers a precise, unapologetic definition of poetry:

I would define, in brief, the Poetry of words as The Rhythmical Creation of Beauty . Its sole arbiter is Taste. With the Intellect or with the Conscience, it has only collateral relations. Unless incidentally, it has no concern whatever either with Duty or with Truth. […] While [the Poetic Principle] itself is, strictly and simply, the Human Aspiration for Supernal Beauty, the manifestation of the Principle is always found in an elevating excitement of the Soul — quite independent of that passion which is the intoxication of the Heart — or of that Truth which is the satisfaction of the Reason. For, in regard to Passion, alas! its tendency is to degrade, rather than to elevate the Soul. Love, on the contrary — Love … is unquestionably the purest and truest of all poetical themes. And in regard to Truth — if, to be sure, through the attainment of a truth, we are led to perceive a harmony where none was apparent before, we experience, at once, the true poetical effect — but this effect is preferable to the harmony alone, and not in the least degree to the truth which merely served to render the harmony manifest.

Poe ends with an exquisite living manifestation of his Poetic Principle — a sort of prose poem about poetry itself:

We shall reach, however, more immediately a distinct conception of what the true Poetry is, by mere reference to a few of the simple elements which induce in the Poet himself the true poetical effect He recognizes the ambrosia which nourishes his soul, in the bright orbs that shine in Heaven — in the volutes of the flower — in the clustering of low shrubberies — in the waving of the grain-fields — in the slanting of tall, Eastern trees — in the blue distance of mountains — in the grouping of clouds — in the twinkling of half-hidden brooks — in the gleaming of silver rivers — in the repose of sequestered lakes — in the star-mirroring depths of lonely wells. He perceives it in the songs of birds — in the harp of Æolus — in the sighing of the night-wind — in the repining voice of the forest — in the surf that complains to the shore — in the fresh breath of the woods — in the scent of the violet — in the voluptuous perfume of the hyacinth — in the suggestive odor that comes to him, at eventide, from far-distant, undiscovered islands, over dim oceans, illimitable and unexplored. He owns it in all noble thoughts — in all unworldly motives — in all holy impulses — in all chivalrous, generous, and self-sacrificing deeds. He feels it in the beauty of woman — in the grace of her step — in the lustre of her eye — in the melody of her voice — in her soft laughter — in her sigh — in the harmony of the rustling of her robes. He deeply feels it in her winning endearments — in her burning enthusiasms — in her gentle charities — in her meek and devotional endurances — but above all — ah, far above all — he kneels to it — he worships it in the faith, in the purity, in the strength, in the altogether divine majesty — of her love.

Find more of Poe’s timeless wisdom in Edgar Allan Poe: Essays and Reviews and complement it with his meditation on marginalia and Lou Reed on the challenge of setting Poe to music .

— Published January 28, 2014 — https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/01/28/edgar-allan-poe-poetic-principle/ —

www.themarginalian.org

PRINT ARTICLE

Email article, filed under, books culture edgar allan poe literature poetry psychology, view full site.

The Marginalian participates in the Bookshop.org and Amazon.com affiliate programs, designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to books. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book from a link here, I receive a small percentage of its price, which goes straight back into my own colossal biblioexpenses. Privacy policy . (TLDR: You're safe — there are no nefarious "third parties" lurking on my watch or shedding crumbs of the "cookies" the rest of the internet uses.)

A Brief History of Poetry: Exploring the Evolution of Poetry Through the Ages

Introduction to the history of poetry.

Poetry is the art of creating beautiful and powerful pieces of writing. It has been around for centuries and is produced by poets inspired to communicate their innermost thoughts through verse. Poems can take many forms, from sonnets to free verse, but all successful poems have an element of rhythm, rhyme and imagery that resonates with their readers.

At its core, poetry is a way for someone to express themselves concisely yet evocatively. It allows them to put into words emotions or ideas that cannot be said any other way. They use language to create vivid images in the minds of their readers so they can better understand what they are trying to say. The beauty of poetry lies in its ability to convey deep meaning without using too many words or too much explanation – it’s all about the economy of language!

The Origin of Poetry & Poem

Oral tradition and storytelling.

Oral tradition and storytelling have been integral to poetry throughout the centuries. Storytelling has been used to convey ideas, values, wisdom, knowledge, and culture from generation to generation long before the written word was introduced. It is a tradition that has existed for thousands of years.

The power of spoken words can be seen in poetic forms such as epics, folk tales and lyrical poetry. From ancient oral texts like Homer’s Odyssey to modern-day rap battles, storytelling has been a powerful form of expression used by people worldwide to convey messages through rhyme and rhythm. Oral tradition serves as a cultural bridge between past and future generations by providing a living source of information about the experiences of those who came before us. In this way, it contributes significantly to our understanding of the human experience.

Folk Poetry

Poetry has been a part of history since ancient times. The earliest poetry were found in folk poems or ballads, passed down orally from generation to generation. These popular or folk poems featured simple, repetitive language and often told stories about everyday life.

The traditional use of these compositions by various cultures allowed for them to be shared widely across many geographical boundaries and acted as a way for people to connect despite their distance. As communication became more widespread, folk songs began to spread further beyond the regions they originated from and grew in popularity. They evolved and came to represent different themes, such as love, loss, freedom, culture and identity.

Today these poetic traditions live on through modern forms such as rap music which still draws heavily from the styles of older folk songs.

Ancient Civilizations

Poetry is one of humanity’s oldest art forms, with surviving examples from the ancient world providing a window into the beliefs and practices of different civilizations. Ancient Greece and Rome were two of the earliest civilizations to adopt poetic expression, with their works holding an important place in literature.

The Greeks are credited with creating the first genuine poems, written in various meters such as dactylic hexameters and iambic trimeter. In Ancient Greek, these works were composed by poets such as Homer and Hesiod who wrote about gods, kings, legends and everyday life. Readers can gain insight into how Ancient Greeks viewed their own culture and values through these compositions. Meanwhile, Roman poetry was heavily influenced by Greek verse but evolved to develop its unique style and conventions which still influence literature today.

Role of Religion and Mythology

Religion and mythology have played an essential role in the origins of poetry. Ancient Greek mythology, in particular, has been a significant source of inspiration for artists throughout history. Epic poetry, such as Homer’s Odyssey or Virgil’s Aeneid, often draws on Greek gods and goddesses to craft stories that combine historical events with mythical elements. In addition to providing a source of characters and plot points, these stories also help to explain natural phenomena and the human condition at large.

The influence of religion extends beyond the Greek pantheon into Christianity as well. During the Middle Ages, religious themes were frequently explored through literature; religious allegory was used to explore moral principles while hymns sought to express emotions surrounding spiritual faith.

Evolution of Poetry

Middle ages and the emergence of written poetry.

The Middle Ages were a period of great artistic and literary achievements. During this time, written poetry was one of the most highly developed forms of expression. Poetic works flourished throughout Europe during the medieval period and their influence can still be seen in modern literature.

From courtly love poetry to religious hymns and epic tales, poets created works that explored themes such as honor, loyalty, chivalry, enmity and loss. Their writings helped shape European culture’s ideas and values for centuries to come. In particular, many medieval artists wrote about nature as a source of inspiration for their work—a trend still popular today.

The emergence of written poetry in the Middle Ages also impacted other arts, such as music and drama.

The Renaissance and the revival of classical forms

The Renaissance was a period of immense cultural and intellectual growth, marked by the revival of classical forms such as poetry. The development of poetic styles during this period demonstrated how ancient and modern modes could be fused to create vibrant, complex, and expressive works. During the Renaissance, epic poetry was prevalent; these lengthy works often took on a narrative form to recount themes from ancient mythology or historical sagas. Additionally, dramatic poetry emerged as a way to explore serious topics such as morality and philosophy through vivid dialogue between characters.

Poetry became a powerful tool for artists to express their thoughts elegantly – many famous writers used it as part of their creative process when reciting their work out loud or penning them down on paper.

The Romantic Movement and the emphasis on self-expression

Modern and contemporary poetry movements.

Modern and contemporary poetry movements have seen tremendous development over the past century. From the Imagist movement of the early 20th century to the Beat poets of the mid-century, modern and contemporary poetry also has grown in both styles and reach. The Imagist movement, which began at the turn of the 20th century, reacted to Victorian poetry’s focus on emotionalism; instead, they sought to be precise and sharp with their words. This movement gave rise to some greats such as T. S Eliot and Ezra Pound who explored language in ways that had never been done before.

The Beat poets were another significant influence on modern; Jack Kerouac led this genre into new territory with his spontaneous prose explored themes of freedom, nature, drug use and spirituality through his writing.

Types of Poetry

What is a lyric poetry.

It is a genre of literature that has been around for centuries, tracing its roots back to ancient Greece. It’s composed of verses and usually set to music, intended for performance rather than just reading. It has undergone many changes since it was first established in the Greek era, but it still holds an essential place in today’s culture.

In Ancient Greece, lyric poetry was used primarily as an accompaniment to musical instruments such as lyres or flutes; the lyrics were written with a specific structure and meter to fit the rhythm of the music being performed. Greek lyric artists included Sappho, Pindar and Anacreon who wrote about topics ranging from love and beauty to politics and philosophy. The themes explored by these early lyricists have remained relevant throughout history up until modern times.

What is a Dramatic Poetry?

A dramatic poem sometimes referred to as a dramatic monologue, is a poetic form that allows the writer to explore deep inner feelings and emotions. This poetry has been used for centuries to tell stories and express moods creatively and powerfully.

A good dramatic poem should be vivid and evocative. It should capture the reader’s imagination with vivid imagery, captivating language, and gripping metaphors. Furthermore, it should create an emotional connection with the reader by allowing them to feel the protagonist’s journey or struggle. To write good poetry, writers must convey emotion effectively through words while maintaining structure in their writing.

What is a Free Verse Poetry?

Free verse poetry is a form of literature where the poet does not adhere to any specific rhyme scheme or meter. Usually, artists write in this style to create a unique poetic experience that expresses their feelings without constraints from traditional poetic compositions. Free verse often follows natural patterns of speech and allows for more artistic experimentation than conventional forms of poetry.

Examples of free verse poems can range from short works such as haikus to full-length epics. There are no set rules regarding line length or structure, allowing poets great freedom in crafting their work. Good free verse poetry relies on persuasive language and imagery to engage readers and create emotional responses; these techniques can help make an otherwise ordinary poem come alive with deeper meaning. Additionally, many modern artists have used multiple methods such as alliteration and internal rhyme when writing free verse poems for added effect.

What is an Epic Poetry?

Epic poetry is one of the oldest and most significant forms of poetry, often regarded as some of the best poetic works. It is a long narrative poem that recounts the heroic deeds of a protagonist or hero, usually involving supernatural forces and events. Epic poems are an essential part of many cultures and civilizations around the world, from ancient Greece to India and beyond.

Epic poets use elaborate language with frequent references to mythology or religion to tell their stories. They often feature an elevated style emphasizing grandeur and power through hyperbolic expressions. It typically contains heroic characters with superhuman strength who undertake grand adventures on behalf of others, such as Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey or Beowulf in the Anglo-Saxon epic composition by the same name.

What is Performance Poetry?

Performance poetry is an art form that has been around for centuries and is a unique blend of traditional poetic writing with innovative performance styles. This type of poetry combines the traditions of poetry, such as rhythm and rhyme, with spoken word performances. Performance poets use their voices to create a powerful emotional experience for the audience.

They often draw upon themes from current events and ancient legends to deliver their message. They may also incorporate props or music into their performances to further emphasize their intended point. Through this combination of written words and performance style, some of the greatest poetry from around the world has been presented in this format. They have long been revered for their ability to emotionally engage audiences through thought-provoking works that explore human emotions and societal issues entertainingly.

Modern poetry has evolved from traditional forms in several ways

Modern poetry has come a long way from traditional forms and styles rooted in oral history. The development of modern poetry is generally seen as a break away from traditional verse structures, such as complex rhyme schemes and metrical standards. By the late 19th century, poets began experimenting with new methods and ways of expressing their ideas in writing.

The rise of free verse was key to this shift in poetic form, allowing the artist to express their thoughts without requiring strict rules and regulations. This opened up the possibilities for new word choice, sentence structure, punctuation rules, and more. Additionally, the modern poem can include visual art or performance art, which often triggers responses from readers that are beyond what words alone can create.

Furthermore, it also began to incorporate new themes and subjects, such as the urban landscape, industrialization, and the individual experience. Poets began to explore the inner thoughts and emotions of the individual rather than just the grand narrative of traditional poetry. This shift in focus allowed for a more personal and intimate connection between the poet and the reader.

Importance of Understanding Poetry’s Origins

Poetry has been around for centuries and is a form of literature in many different cultures. Since its origins, poetry has been used to express feelings, share experiences, and tell stories. As such, I believe it is important to understand where traditional poetry comes from if we are going to appreciate it today.

Understanding the origin of poetry allows us to gain a greater appreciation for the beauty and power of its words. For instance, many empires have used poetry to tell important stories about their people or culture – from Ancient Greece to China during the Tang Dynasty. Knowing this helps us realize why certain types, styles or meters were chosen over others by these civilizations and how those choices helped shape our modern interpretation of the art form.

How has technology, such as social media, impacted how poetry is written and shared in the 21st century?

In the 21st century, technology and social media have changed how poetry is written and shared. From quick-fire quips on Twitter to intricate haikus on Instagram, it has never been easier for poets to express themselves or share their work with a global audience.

The quality of poetry is arguably higher than ever before. They can now access an array of platforms from which they can create, publish and distribute their work simultaneously; this has allowed them to reach larger audiences than ever before, making what was once a niche pursuit into something much more popular. This increased popularity has enabled a greater range of topics and styles – from a traditional poems like sonnets and odes right through to rap battles on Youtube – inspiring more people to take up the craft than ever before.

How has the publication and distribution of poetry changed in the 21st century?

In the 21st century, poetry has experienced a massive shift in publication and distribution. Previously, poets relied on physical books to reach their audience and be published. However, with the emergence of social media platforms such as Facebook , Twitter and Instagram , they now have a new channel for connecting with readers.

For example, many artists now use Twitter to post snippets of their poems for other users to read. Similarly, Instagram is an excellent tool for sharing examples of poetry visually through graphic art or spoken word videos.

Additionally, online bookstores such as Amazon, Google Books or Barnes & Noble make accessing complete collections of poems from around the world easier. This enhanced accessibility has been a game-changer for readers looking to explore new artists and their offerings without visiting physical stores or libraries.

Poetry Quotes About Love: Poet’s Treasury of Love Poem & Quotes

The Power of Romanticism in Poetry: An In-depth Look at the Romantic Poet

Poetry Techniques: An Introduction to Different Poetic Device

Creative Poetry Ideas: Enhance Your Inspiring Poetry Prompts & Poems

1 1 Ethics, Literature, and the Place of Poetry

Author Webpage

Published: September 2010
Cite Icon Cite
Permissions Icon Permissions

This chapter offers an extended introduction to the philosophical debate over the ethical value of literature from Plato's expulsion of the poets from his ideal republic to the self‐styled ‘turn to ethics’ in recent literary theory. The sometimes allied tradition of poetic defence or apologia is traced in its development from the neo‐Classical arguments of Renaissance writers through its romanticist, Victorian, and modernist incarnations, to T. S. Eliot's writings, which became the lasting and most influential example for the next generation of poets. This chapter reassesses Eliot's career‐long defence of poetry, paying special attention to the way his late writings integrate the early ideals of ‘poetic integrity’ and ‘auditory imagination’ into a ‘duty to language’, which carries with it a concomitant duty to people.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]
Google Scholar Indexing

Personal account

Sign in with email/username & password
Get email alerts
Save searches
Purchase content
Activate your purchase/trial code

Institutional access

Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
Institutional account management
Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institutionâ€™s website and Oxford Academic.

Click Sign in through your institution.
Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institutionâ€™s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see â€˜Sign in through society siteâ€™ in the sign in pane within a journal:

Click Sign in through society site.
When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

About Oxford Academic
Publish journals with us
University press partners
What we publish
New features
Open access
Rights and permissions
Accessibility
Advertising
Media enquiries
Oxford University Press
Oxford Languages
University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
Cookie settings
Cookie policy
Privacy policy
Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Alan Lindsay, PhD

The period that coincides roughly with the Eighteenth century is known by various names: The Enlightenment, The Neo-Classical Age, The Augustan Age, and The Age of Reason. Advancing the project of the Renaissance, it was a time that yearned to use logic or reason to raise history out of the darkness of superstition and establish a verifiable knowledge of the world. It is the age of the philosophy of John Locke and the science of Isaac Newton. As we will see however, we will need to understand more than reason to understand the poetry of the era.

The Rise of Reason

Once again, we see here how important it is for the poet that his poem not be “open for interpretation.” He’s afraid the lady might not understand his great work properly. And this worries him. So he will condescend to give her the means by which she can better understand what is going on in the poem. This is not at all surprising in the Enlightenment, which was officially sexist and, more importantly for our concerns, devoted to the idea that reason is the primary means through which humanity will lead itself out of error and into truth. If we lived in this era, we’d expect to reason not only about poems but also in poems.

This is perhaps the biggest change in poetry from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Poetry was still thought of as elevated language. You could still do all the things in poetry you could do in any kind of language, and there were still love poems, and lyric poems, and narrative poems. Poetry was still thought of as a moral force (or, if misused, as an immoral force). And poets were still thought of as artists—in fact, being an artist was an even bigger deal in the eighteenth century than it had been in the previous two centuries. And poetry was still expected to “imitate nature.” But in the eighteenth century, poetry became more aligned with the humanist project of understanding nature (including human nature) through reason than it ever had been before. It came to be believed in the eighteenth century that nature was best understood through reason, so poetry became more closely aligned to reason.

That does not mean that all poems were conceived of as making logical arguments bent on establishing objective truth through reason. As we’ll see below, both sentimental poetry and satire also rose to high prominence at the time, and neither of these makes a direct appeal to reason. But among the most characteristic poetry of the age was the essay poem . Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism,” and “An Essay on Man,” are the two most important examples. In these poems England’s premier poet gave us first an explanation in heroic couplets of what poetry is and how it works, and a philosophical work aimed at “vindicat[ing] the ways of God to man.” In “An Essay on Man,” Pope translates the work of the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz into verse.

Delight, Satire, and the Limits of Reason

Reason grew to be more central to poetry than it had ever been. But, as noted above, that was not the whole story. There was then, as always, a debate about the nature and proper use of poetry. The two main poles of the eighteenth-century debate can be characterized by the two words “teach” and “delight.” The question was whether poetry should primarily teach us about the world or give us pleasure . All writers admitted both were important, but which one should be subordinated to the other? What was the principle end, or purpose, of poetry?

As noted, the two other types of poetry most characteristic of the age are satire and sentimental poetry . Satire is an ancient form of rhetoric that pokes fun at folly or vice with the moral purpose of correcting the error. The problem with folly (accepting things that are not true) and vice (acting in ways that are against one’s own best interests) is that they are unreasonable . Satire however aims at revealing the error of folly and vice not by reason but by mockery.

The most famous satire of the age is certainly Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock.” It is a long narrative poem which makes fun of a young woman’s anger at having a lock of her hair cut off by a suitor who is enraged because she has defeated him in a card game. Elevating the cutting of a lock of hair to the status of rape and presenting rape in terms of an epic military battle, the poem says, essentially, “aren’t you being irrational to throw away your future wealth and happiness for a lock of hair?”

Although satire uses hyperbole and mockery to make its point, the point is still to help the object of the satire laugh herself back onto the path of reason. [1]

The third type of poem that arose and became associated with the age is sentimental verse. Unlike satire, sentimental verse takes us entirely outside of reason. It was not anything Alexander Pope would have written. The rise of sentimental poetry, at first glance, may seem like an anomaly in the Age of Reason. Sentimental poetry does not draw on reason but on feeling alone and attempts to wring out of inherently emotional subjects (like pets and babies and motherhood) as much feeling as can be wrung—always more even than the subject rightly calls for. This marks a change from the poetry of previous times. It also becomes of the most roundly rejected aspects of the time by the centuries following the Enlightenment.

Whereas for example seventeenth century puritan poetry such as Edward Taylor’s “Upon Marriage and the Death of Children,” attempted to find consolation in the death of children, eighteenth century poetry is more likely to wring the greatest number of tears from the death of a not merely a child, but even a pet, as in William Cowper’s “Epitaph on a Hare,” or even a field mouse, as in Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse,” which is subtitled “On turning up her nest with the plough, November 1783” and contains such sentiments as:

Thou saw the fields laid bare and waste, And weary Winter comin’ fast, And cozy here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell, Till crash! the cruel coulter* passed *plough Out through thy cell. That wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble Has cost thee many a weary nibble! Now thou’s turn’d out, for all thy trouble, Both house or hold, To thole* the Winter’s sleety dribble, *endure An’ cranreuch cold! * *cold frost

A poor, innocent, little mouse has had his home wrecked by the massive, indifferent machinery of a farmer’s plough!

After the eighteenth century, sentimental poetry was universally rejected by serious poets because of its cheap effects and it attempt to draw strong emotional reactions from trivial events that do not deserve them. But it’s easy to see how “the Age of Reason” would come to value this type of poem. Reason at the time attempted to divide experience up into the most distinct units possible. In keeping with this, some poets, understanding that human nature includes both reason and feeling attempted to isolate feeling and perfect poetry that appealed only to that part of our being, with no sense of reason at all. Reason cuts up and compartmentalizes reality. Poetry follows suit.

Poetry of Social Conscience

After hearing what our Church can say, If still our Reason runs another way, That private Reason ’tis more Just to curb, Than by Disputes the publick Peace disturb.

Here Dryden admits that we as individuals may disagree with the church. But, for the sake of peace (not truth or conscience) we should accept what the church teaches and reject our own thought. Although the stated goal is peace, not truth, the sentiment is not unreasonable. “Private” reason is suspect because it is private. Individuals are very likely to reason badly. The opinion of the many (i.e. the public) therefore reasonably outweighs the opinion of the few.

On a more liberal side, we have the poetry of social conscience. It is where private reason is made public and therefore can be defended. We should note that “social conscience” is, of course, not confined to poetry. The important thing is that it was prominent in poetry as in other forms of writing. The poetry of social conscience is activist, more activist than satire. Satire aims to change the individual, but socially conscious poetry aims to change the world.

According to one critic,

A social conscience, propagated through poems, periodicals, novels, sermons, and philosophy, bore fruit in the works of welfare—the foundation of charity schools, of dispensaries providing medicine for the poor, and of bodies like the Marine Society…. and the Royal Humane Society… [2]

In fact poetry has always had a sense that part of its job was to do something in the world. Poets such as the American Carolyn Forché think this way even today. As noted, such poetry came to greater prominence in the eighteenth century and probably had the strongest effect it has ever had both because its activist tendencies were felt to be proper to it and because it was so widely read. It was an active part of the larger political conversation.

Among the best socially conscious poetry of the time was that of Phillis Wheatley, an African slave living in Boston. In poems like “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” and “His Excellency General Washington,” she promoted the dignity of African people and created and enhanced public sentiment in favor of the American Revolution (which was acknowledged by no less a figure than Washington himself).

How Poetry Circulated

Recall that in the Renaissance, poetry was supported by patronage. At the same time, and for the first time in the English-speaking world, it became possible to make money off the sale of printed books. Most of that money went to the printers and booksellers, though authors were often paid a fee for their work. By the end of the eighteenth century, the patronage system had come to an end. Starting in 1709, copyright law gave writers more control and rights over their work. It became increasingly possible for a poet or other writer to make a living as a writer and therefore no longer to depend upon a patron for survival. One way to do this was through the sale of written works just as is done to this day; another was through subscription. Established writers could make advance money from potential readers by having them pay in advance for a work. If the poet got enough advance money, he or she would write the poem. Great poets of significant reputation were very successful in selling their works this way. [2]

Subscription become possible because literacy exploded in the eighteenth century. This led to a huge increase in the publishing industry. Everyone was reading, and the industry did its best to supply the readers with books. Although poets and other writers were eager to teach and to enforce faith and morality, most readers were reading for mainly for entertainment or pleasure. And what they were reading was, increasingly, novels and other prose works. But the average reader was far more likely also to be reading poetry, the most prestigious of the language arts, than is the case today.

[1] It should be pointed out that the proper object of satire is not an individual but a type. The young woman of “The Rape of the Lock” properly represents not a specific young woman, but any young woman—or any person—whose vanity leads her to irrational actions.

[2] This practice is the forerunner of a phenomenon happening today in the music industry, whose former model of recording and sales becomes less viable due to easy internet pirating, at such sites as Pledgemusic.com

Video Lecture: The Age of Reason

Some Poems:

Johnathan Swift, “A Description of the Morning” (Links to an external site.)

John Gay, Airs from The Beggar’s Opera, “Greensleeves” (Links to an external site.)

Alexander Pope, , “An Essay on Man”

Thomas Gray, “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College,”

William Collins, “Ode to Evening” (Links to an external site.)

William Cowper, “Epitaph on a Hare,”

Philis Wheatley, “To S.M., a Young African Painter, On Seeing His Works,” (Links to an external site.)

“On Being Brought from Africa to America” (Links to an external site.)

Charlotte Smith, From The Emigrants: A Poem (Links to an external site.)

Robert Burns, “Tam O’Shanter”

Share This Book

The Beauty of Life in Poetry: Exploring the Depths of Human Experience

Poetry has always been a powerful medium for expressing the complexities of life. From the mundane to the profound, poets have been capturing the essence of human existence in their verses for centuries. Whether it's the joy of love, the pain of loss, or the contemplation of our purpose, poems about life resonate with readers on a deep level. In this article, we will explore some remarkable poems that delve into the many facets of our shared journey.

1. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

2. "still i rise" by maya angelou, 3. "if" by rudyard kipling.

Considered one of the most famous poems in American literature, Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is a poignant reflection on the choices we make in life. It explores the idea of individuality and the fear of regret. The following lines emphasize this theme:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

These words remind us that life is a series of choices, some more conventional than others. Frost's poem urges us to embrace our uniqueness and have the courage to follow our own path, even if it leads us away from the crowd.

Maya Angelou's powerful poem, "Still I Rise," is a celebration of resilience and the indomitable spirit of the human soul. It is an anthem for anyone who has faced adversity and refused to be defeated. The following lines capture the essence of its empowering message:

"Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise."

Angelou's words remind us that no matter what challenges we face, we have the strength within us to rise above them. The poem serves as a reminder to embrace our inner power and refuse to be defined by the circumstances life throws our way.

Rudyard Kipling's timeless poem, "If," offers a profound guide on how to navigate life's trials and tribulations with grace and integrity. It imparts valuable life lessons and encourages readers to strive for greatness. The following lines exemplify its wisdom:

"If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same."

Kipling's poem serves as a reminder to stay true to oneself, maintain composure in the face of adversity, and uphold moral values. It encourages readers to embrace the challenges of life, knowing that true character is forged through experiences.

Poetry has the remarkable ability to distill the complexities of life into a few carefully chosen words. Through the poems mentioned above, we catch a glimpse of the vast array of emotions and experiences that shape our existence. From Frost's contemplation of choices to Angelou's celebration of resilience and Kipling's lessons on integrity, these poems enrich our understanding of what it means to be alive. So, let us continue to explore the depths of human experience through the beauty of poetry, finding solace, inspiration, and a deeper connection to the world around us.

The Language of the Heart: Poems that Express Deep Emotions for Someone
Poems That Save Lives: Harnessing the Power of Words

Entradas Relacionadas

The Unveiling of Life's Struggles: Deep Poems That Echo the Human Experience

Poems about Not Giving Up: A Source of Inspiration

Poems That Capture the Rollercoaster of Life: Ups and Downs

Famous Poems About Humanity: Exploring the Depths of the Human Experience

I Wonder: Exploring Life's Mysteries through Poetry

Poems about Coming Back: A Journey of Resilience and Renewal

school Campus Bookshelves
menu_book Bookshelves
perm_media Learning Objects
login Login
how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
hub Instructor Commons
Download Page (PDF)
Download Full Book (PDF)
Periodic Table
Physics Constants
Scientific Calculator
Reference & Cite
Tools expand_more
Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

8.8: Writing About Poetry

Last updated
Save as PDF
Page ID 101142

Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

When your teachers or professors ask you to analyze a literary text, they often look for something frequently called close reading. Close reading is a deep analysis of how a literary text works; it is both a reading process and something you include in a literary analysis paper, though in a refined form.

Fiction writers and poets build texts out of many central components, including subject, form, and specific word choices. Literary analysis involves examining these components, which allows us to find, in small parts of the text, clues to help us understand the whole. For example, if an author writes a novel in the form of a personal journal about a character’s daily life, but that journal reads like a series of lab reports, what do we learn about that character? What is the effect of picking a word like “tome” instead of “book”? In effect, you are putting the author’s choices under a microscope.

The process of close reading should produce a lot of questions. It is when you begin to answer these questions that you are ready to participate thoughtfully in class discussion or write a literary analysis paper that makes the most of your close reading work.

Close reading sometimes feels like over-analyzing, but don’t worry. Close reading is a process of finding as much information as you can in order to form as many questions as you can. When it is time to write your paper and formalize your close reading, you will sort through your work to figure out what is most convincing and helpful to the argument you hope to make and, conversely, what seems like a stretch. This guide imagines you are sitting down to read a text for the first time on your way to developing an argument about a text and writing a paper. To give one example of how to do this, we will read the poem, “Design,” by famous American poet Robert Frost and attend to four major components of literary texts: subject, form, word choice (diction), and theme.

As our guide to reading poetry suggests, have a pencil out when you read a text. Make notes in the margins, underline important words, place question marks where you are confused by something. Of course, if you are reading in a library book, you should keep all your notes on a separate piece of paper. If you are not making marks directly on, in, and beside the text, be sure to note line numbers or even quote portions of the text, so you have enough context to remember what you found interesting.

Design I found a dimpled spider, fat and white, On a white heal-all, holding up a moth Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth— Assorted characters of death and blight Mixed ready to begin the morning right, Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth— A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth, And dead wings carried like a paper kite. What had that flower to do with being white, The wayside blue and innocent heal-all? What brought the kindred spider to that height, Then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design of darkness to appall?— If design govern in a thing so small.

The subject of a literary text is simply what the text is about. What is its plot? What is its most important topic? What image does it describe? It’s easy to think of novels and stories as having plots, but sometimes it helps to think of poetry as having a kind of plot as well. When you examine the subject of a text, you want to develop some preliminary ideas about the text and make sure you understand its major concerns before you dig deeper.

Observations

In “Design,” the speaker describes a scene: a white spider holding a moth on a white flower. The flower is a heal-all, the blooms of which are usually violet-blue. This heal-all is unusual. The speaker then poses a series of questions, asking why this heal-all is white instead of blue and how the spider and moth found this particular flower. How did this situation arise?

The speaker’s questions seem simple, but they are actually fairly nuanced. We can use them as a guide for our own as we go forward with our close reading.

Furthering the speaker’s simple “how did this happen,” we might ask, is the scene in this poem a manufactured situation?
The white moth and white spider each use the atypical white flower as camouflage in search of sanctuary and supper, respectively. Did these flora and fauna come together for a purpose?
Does the speaker have a stance about whether there is a purpose behind the scene? If so, what is it?
How will other elements of the text relate to the unpleasantness and uncertainty in our first look at the poem’s subject?

After thinking about local questions, we have to zoom out. Ultimately, what is this text about?

Form is how a text is put together. When you look at a text, observe how the author has arranged it. If it is a novel, is it written in the first person? How is the novel divided? If it is a short story, why did the author choose to write short-form fiction instead of a novel or novella? How does the chosen form impact the story (how does the form inform the piece)? How would the piece be different if it were in a different form? Examining the form of a text can help you develop a starting set of questions in your reading, which may then guide further questions stemming from even closer attention to the specific words the author chooses. A little background research on form and what different forms can mean makes it easier to figure out why and how the author’s choices are important.

Most poems follow rules or principles of form; even free verse poems are marked by the author’s choices in line breaks, rhythm, and rhyme—even if none of these exists, which is a notable choice in itself. Here’s an example of thinking through these elements in “Design.”

In “Design,” Frost chooses an Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet form: fourteen lines in iambic pentameter consisting of an octave (a stanza of eight lines) and a sestet (a stanza of six lines). We will focus on rhyme scheme and stanza structure rather than meter (a pattern of syllabic emphasis) for the purposes of this guide. A typical Italian sonnet has a specific rhyme scheme for the octave:

a b b a a b b a

There’s more variation in the sestet rhymes, but one of the more common schemes is

c d e c d e

Conventionally, the octave introduces a problem or question which the sestet then resolves. The point at which the sonnet goes from the problem/question to the resolution is called the volta, or turn. (Note that we are speaking only in generalities here; there is a great deal of variation.)

Frost uses the usual octave scheme with “-ite”/”-ight” (a) and “oth” (b) sounds: “white,” “moth,” “cloth,” “blight,” “right,” “broth,” “froth,” “kite.” However, his sestet follows an unusual scheme with “-ite”/”-ight” and “all” sounds:

a c a a c c

Now, we have a few questions with which we can start:

Why use an Italian sonnet?
Why use an unusual scheme in the sestet?
What problem/question and resolution (if any) does Frost offer?
What is the volta in this poem?
In other words, what is the point?

Italian sonnets have a long tradition; many careful readers recognize the form and know what to expect from his octave, volta, and sestet. Frost seems to do something fairly standard in the octave in presenting a situation; however, the turn Frost makes is not to resolution, but to questions and uncertainty. A white spider sitting on a white flower has killed a white moth.

How did these elements come together?
Was the moth’s death random or by design?
Is one worse than the other?

We can guess right away that Frost’s disruption of the usual purpose of the sestet has something to do with his disruption of its rhyme scheme. Looking even more closely at the text will help us refine our observations and guesses.

Word Choice, Or Diction

Looking at the word choice of a text helps us “dig in” ever more deeply. If you are reading something longer, are there certain words that come up again and again? Are there words that stand out? While you are going through this process, it is best for you to assume that every word is important—again, you can decide whether something is really important later.

Read with a pencil and make notes. Mark the words that stand out, and perhaps write the questions you have in the margins or on a separate piece of paper. If you have ideas that may possibly answer your questions, write those down, too.

Let’s take a look at the first line of “Design”:

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white

The poem starts with something unpleasant: a spider. Then, as we look more closely at the adjectives describing the spider, we may see connotations of something that sounds unhealthy or unnatural. When we imagine spiders, we do not generally picture them dimpled and white; it is an uncommon and decidedly creepy image. There is dissonance between the spider and its descriptors, i.e., what is wrong with this picture? Already we have a question: what is going on with this spider?

We should look for additional clues further on in the text. The next two lines develop the image of the unusual, unpleasant-sounding spider:

On a white heal-all, holding up a moth Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—

Now we have a white flower (a heal-all, which usually has a violet-blue flower) and a white moth in addition to our white spider. Heal-alls have medicinal properties, as their name suggests, but this one seems to have a genetic mutation—perhaps like the spider? Does the mutation that changes the heal-all’s color also change its beneficial properties—could it be poisonous rather than curative? A white moth doesn’t seem remarkable, but it is “Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth,” or like manmade fabric that is artificially “rigid” rather than smooth and flowing like we imagine satin to be. We might think for a moment of a shroud or the lining of a coffin, but even that is awry, for neither should be stiff with death.

The first three lines of the poem’s octave introduce unpleasant natural images “of death and blight” (as the speaker puts it in line four). The flower and moth disrupt expectations: the heal-all is white instead of “blue and innocent,” and the moth is reduced to “rigid satin cloth” or “dead wings carried like a paper kite.” We might expect a spider to be unpleasant and deadly; the poem’s spider also has an unusual and unhealthy appearance.

The focus on whiteness in these lines has more to do with death than purity—can we understand that whiteness as being corpse-like rather than virtuous?

Well before the volta, Frost makes a “turn” away from nature as a retreat and haven; instead, he unearths its inherent dangers, making nature menacing. From three lines alone, we have a number of questions:

Will whiteness play a role in the rest of the poem?
How does “design”—an arrangement of these circumstances—fit with a scene of death?
What other juxtapositions might we encounter?

These disruptions and dissonances recollect Frost’s alteration to the standard Italian sonnet form: finding the ways and places in which form and word choice go together will help us begin to unravel some larger concepts the poem itself addresses.

Put simply, themes are major ideas in a text. Many texts, especially longer forms like novels and plays, have multiple themes. That’s good news when you are close reading because it means there are many different ways you can think through the questions you develop.

So far, in our reading of “Design,” our questions revolve around disruption: disruption of form, disruption of expectations in the description of certain images. Discovering a concept or idea that links multiple questions or observations you have made is the beginning of discovering theme.

What is happening with disruption in “Design”? What point is Frost making? Observations about other elements in the text help you address the idea of disruption in more depth. Here is where we look back at the work we have already done: What is the text about? What is notable about the form, and how does it support or undermine what the words say? Does the specific language of the text highlight, or redirect, certain ideas?

In this example, we are looking to determine what kind(s) of disruption the poem contains or describes. We want to see what kind of disruption, or whether indeed Frost uses disruptions in form and language to communicate something opposite: design.

Sample Analysis

After you make notes, formulate questions, and set tentative hypotheses, you must analyze the subject of your close reading. Literary analysis is another process of reading (and writing!) that allows you to make a claim about the text. It is also the point at which you turn a critical eye to your earlier questions and observations to find the most compelling points and discard the ones that are a “stretch” or are fascinating but have no clear connection to the text as a whole. (We recommend a separate document for recording the brilliant ideas that don’t quite fit this time around.)

Here follows an excerpt from a brief analysis of “Design” based on the close reading above. By commenting on the different elements of close reading we have discussed, it takes the results of our close reading and offers one particular way into the text. This example focuses on some lines in great detail in order to unpack the meaning and significance of the poem’s language. In the first quote, notice how a slash ( / ) is included. When quoting multiple lines of poetry in your own essays, use a slash ( / ) at the end of each line (with a space preceding and following the slash). If a stanza break occurs during the quotation, use a double slash ( // ).

Frost’s speaker brews unlikely associations in the first stanza of the poem. The “Assorted characters of death and blight / Mixed ready to begin the morning right” make of the grotesque scene an equally grotesque mockery of a breakfast cereal (4 – 5). These lines are almost singsong in meter, and it is easy to imagine them set to a radio jingle. A pun on “right”/”rite” slides the “characters of death and blight” into their expected concoction: a “witches’ broth” (6). These juxtapositions—a healthy breakfast that is also a potion for dark magic—are borne out when our “fat and white” spider becomes “a snow-drop”—an early spring flower associated with renewal—and the moth as “dead wings carried like a paper kite” (1, 7, 8). Like the mutant heal-all that hosts the moth’s death, the spider becomes a deadly flower; the harmless moth becomes a child’s toy, but as “dead wings,” more like a puppet made of a skull.

The volta offers no resolution for our unsettled expectations. Having observed the scene and detailed its elements in all their unpleasantness, the speaker turns to questions rather than answers. How did “The wayside blue and innocent heal-all” end up white and bleached like a bone (10)? How did its “kindred spider” find the white flower, which was its perfect hiding place (11)? Was the moth, then, also searching for camouflage, only to meet its end?

Using another question as a disguise, the speaker offers a hypothesis: “What but design of darkness to appall?” (13). This question sounds rhetorical, as though the only reason for such an unlikely combination of flora and fauna is some “design of darkness.” Some force, the speaker suggests, assembled the white spider, flower, and moth to snuff out the moth’s life. Such a design appalls, or horrifies. We might also consider the speaker asking what other force but dark design could use something as simple as appalling in its other sense (making pale or white) to effect death.

However, the poem does not close with a question, but with a statement. The speaker’s “If design govern in a thing so small” establishes a condition for the octave’s questions after the fact (14). There is no point in considering the dark design that brought together “assorted characters of death and blight” if such an event is too minor, too physically small to be the work of some force unknown. Ending on an “if” clause has the effect of rendering the poem still more uncertain in its conclusions: not only are we faced with unanswered questions, we are now not even sure those questions are valid in the first place.

Behind the speaker and the disturbing scene, we have Frost and his defiance of our expectations for a Petrarchan sonnet. Like whatever designer may have altered the flower and attracted the spider to kill the moth, the poet built his poem “wrong” with a purpose in mind. Design surely governs in a poem, however small; does Frost also have a dark design? Can we compare a scene in nature to a carefully constructed sonnet?

A Note on Organization

Your goal in a paper about literature is to communicate your best and most interesting ideas to your reader. Depending on the type of paper you have been assigned, your ideas may need to be organized in service of a thesis to which everything should link back. It is best to ask your instructor about the expectations for your paper.

Knowing how to organize these papers can be tricky, in part because there is no single right answer—only more and less effective answers. You may decide to organize your paper thematically, or by tackling each idea sequentially; you may choose to order your ideas by their importance to your argument or to the poem. If you are comparing and contrasting two texts, you might work thematically or by first addressing one text and then the other. One way to approach a text may be to start with the beginning of the novel, story, play, or poem, and work your way toward its end. For example, here is the rough structure of the example above: The author of the sample decided to use the poem itself as an organizational guide, at least for this part of the analysis.

A paragraph about the octave.
A paragraph about the volta.
A paragraph about the penultimate line (13).
A paragraph about the final line (14).
A paragraph addressing form that suggests a transition to the next section of the paper.

You will have to decide for yourself the best way to communicate your ideas to your reader. Is it easier to follow your points when you write about each part of the text in detail before moving on? Or is your work clearer when you work through each big idea—the significance of whiteness, the effect of an altered sonnet form, and so on—sequentially?

We suggest you write your paper however is easiest for you, then move things around during revision if you need to.

Contributors:

Taken with permission from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Writer's Handbook: https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/closereading/

National Poetry Month
Materials for Teachers
Literary Seminars
American Poets Magazine

Main navigation

Academy of American Poets

User account menu

Poems about Living and Human Experience

Page submenu block.

literary seminars
materials for teachers
poetry near you

I am living. I remember you... From " What the Living Do " by Marie Howe

When I have no means fortune Is my means. When I have Nothing, death will be my fortune... From " Samurai Song " by Robert Pinsky

As when, after bathing, one walks out into the rain. One idea may hide another: Life is simple... From " One Train May Hide Another " by Kenneth Koch

More poems about Living and Human Experience:

Newsletter Sign Up

Academy of American Poets Newsletter
Academy of American Poets Educator Newsletter
Teach This Poem

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The positive humanities: a focus on human flourishing.

James O. Pawelski is Professor of Practice and Director of Education in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2014, he has served as Founding Director of the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project, which has been designated as a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab. He is the author of The Dynamic Individualism of William James (2007) and editor of The Eudaimonic Turn: Well-Being in Literary Studies (with D. J. Moores, 2013), On Human Flourishing: A Poetry Anthology (with D. J. Moores, Adam Potkay, Emma Mason, et al., 2015), and The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities (with Louis Tay, 2022). He is also editor of the Humanities and Human Flourishing book series with Oxford University Press.

Cite Icon Cite
Open the PDF for in another window
Permissions
Article contents
Figures & tables
Supplementary Data
Peer Review
Search Site

James O. Pawelski; The Positive Humanities: A Focus on Human Flourishing. Daedalus 2022; 151 (3): 206–221. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01939

Download citation file:

Ris (Zotero)
Reference Manager

The Positive Humanities can be defined as the branch of learning concerned with culture in its relation to human flourishing. This new field advocates for a eudaimonic turn in the humanities, an explicit recognition of and commitment to human flourishing as a central theme of study and practical aim of the humanities. It holds that this eudaimonic turn can reconnect the humanities with their initial values and goals and provide a unifying and inspiring rationale for the humanities today, opening pathways for greater individual and collective flourishing in societies around the world. After exploring the historical roots and conceptual orientations of the Positive Humanities (which are inclusive of the arts), I present five recommendations for strengthening the focus of the humanities on human flourishing: emphasize 1) wisdom as much as knowledge, 2) collaboration as much as specialization, 3) the positive as much as the negative, 4) effective friction as much as increased efficiency, and 5) the flourishing of humans as much as the flourishing of the humanities.

Human flourishing is a basic and enduring concern of the humanities. In cultures around the world and across time, a perennial desire to understand the nature and enabling conditions of human flourishing and to find ways to increase it has led to the creation of works exploring these themes and to programs of study intended to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to help them and their communities flourish. For example, ancient wisdom traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Judaism-along with the later Christianity and Islam-focused on questions of how to live life well. Although varying widely in their particulars, they shared the basic view that popular methods for advancing flourishing (like pleasure, wealth, power, and fame) can often hinder it, and that flourishing can be achieved only through the cultivation of virtue. 1 These ideas were expressed, developed, communicated, and taught through religious, philosophical, narrative, and historical texts, as well as through music, art, architecture, theater, and other cultural forms.

Historically, the humanities have their roots in ancient Greek and Roman culture. The Greek paideia was a program of study emphasizing intellectual, moral, and physical development. Designed to promote human flourishing, what the Greeks called eudaimonia , by producing good citizens who would live their lives well and help the polis thrive, the curriculum included instruction in language, philosophy, mathematics, science, and the arts as well as training in gymnastics and wrestling. The Romans included much of this curriculum in what they called the “liberal arts” ( artes liberales ), a program of study intended to provide citizens with the skills free persons needed to flourish and participate actively and wisely in civic life. These subjects were eventually arranged into two groups: the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). Together, they formed the seven liberal arts and constituted the general curriculum of medieval universities.

It was during the Renaissance that the humanities were developed as a distinct program of study. Increasing numbers of scholars believed that scholasticism, the dominant medieval approach to the seven liberal arts, had become disconnected from human flourishing. In a sense, the humanities were the gift of a pandemic, as these scholars were deeply influenced by the Italian poet and scholar Petrarch and his response to a devastating and extended outbreak of the bubonic plague. Known as the Black Death, this pandemic is the deadliest in history, killing an estimated two hundred million people across Europe, Asia, and North Africa in the fourteenth century. Among the dead (estimated to have included between 30 and 60 percent of the population of Western Europe) were many of Petrarch's friends and associates, and even his own son. 2 To cope with the personal and social devastation wrought by the Black Death, Petrarch turned to the careful study of a selection of Greek and Roman classics, where he found solace and strength. Scholars who followed his lead and further developed his approach came to be called “humanists,” since they focused on what Cicero had called “studies of humanity” (studia humanitatis) . 3 Humanists found the scholasticism of their day to be overly pedantic and technical, fixating on the resolution of textual contradictions through logical and linguistic analysis, and neglecting the wisdom that had inspired and informed so many of the classics. By contrast, humanists turned their students’ attention precisely to this wisdom, seeking instruction on the nature of happiness and its relation to virtue by turning away from the quadrivium and redesigning the trivium. Keeping grammar and rhetoric, they replaced logic with history, philosophy, and poetry in the search for practical guidance for their lives. 4 Eventually, the scholasticism of European universities was largely replaced by this new program of study focused directly on human flourishing.

Much has changed since the introduction of this humanistic approach to the university curriculum. In contemporary American colleges and universities, the humanities tend to be thought of less as a comprehensive program of study to increase human flourishing and more as a collection of separate disciplines, each with its own interests and methodological approaches to scholarship. Located within institutions of higher learning, these disciplines are subject to the norms and values of these institutions, and individual scholars are shaped by their systems of recruitment, retention, and reward. Although early American colleges saw the moral formation of students as central to their mission, the rise of research universities has led to a prioritization of the creation of new knowledge. This change of emphasis has resulted in important breakthroughs in research, but these advances have often come at the cost of shifting attention away from questions of how to live life well. Scholars, under enormous pressure to “publish or perish,” tend to specialize in particular areas of knowledge creation, focusing on increasingly narrow points of scholarship to establish their careers as professional academics. Meanwhile, enrollments in humanities courses and programs at four-year colleges and universities continue to drop, due at least in part to increased vocational pressures on students. 5 In response, humanities scholars feel the need to proclaim the economic value of taking courses in their disciplines. These shifts toward professional and economic interests come at a time when students, perhaps now more than ever, are in need of the eudaimonic benefits of the humanities. Even before covid -19, surveys of American students showed alarming increases in anxiety, depression, and suicidality, and the pandemic has made things even worse. 6

The current situation in the humanities bears some troubling resemblance to the conditions that gave rise to the humanities in the first place. Although the present pandemic is, thankfully, not as severe as the Black Death, some of the same basic problems that troubled Petrarch and his heirs are now faced by millions of students. The covid -19 pandemic has exacerbated a number of societal issues, including the unique mental health challenges of this new generation. And students are entering institutions where the focus of research and teaching has largely drifted away from what they need: an emphasis on the understanding and cultivation of individual and collective human flourishing. What can be done to renew the focus of the humanities on human flourishing?

This is the fundamental question motivating the new field of the Positive Humanities. In view of the Oxford English Dictionary's broad definition of the humanities as “the branch of learning concerned with human culture,” 7 the Positive Humanities can be defined as “the branch of learning concerned with human culture in its relation to human flourishing.” 8 The word “culture” is a horticultural term, coming from the Latin cultura , meaning “cultivation.” The Positive Humanities hold that just as the successful cultivation of plants results in their flourishing, so too a successful human culture should lead to human flourishing. The Positive Humanities recognize the wide variety of interests that influence the creation of human culture and that determine its roles in society. Many of these interests approach culture instrumentally, focusing on its professional, academic, vocational, and economic value. Although the Positive Humanities are interested in the implications of these instrumental uses of culture for human flourishing, they are more centrally concerned with the intrinsic benefits of culture, including its eudaimonic effects on personal enjoyment, individual and societal growth, and meaning-making. 9

The Positive Humanities advocate for a eudaimonic turn in the humanities, an explicit recognition of and commitment to human flourishing as a central theme of study and practical aim of the humanities. 10 The Positive Humanities seek insights into the nature and development of human flourishing from the wisdom, narrative, aesthetic, and performance traditions of cultures across time and around the world (and are thus inclusive of the arts). None of these traditions is perfect, of course-far from it-and each has both positive and negative lessons to teach about flourishing. The Positive Humanities understand that a concept as complex as human flourishing calls for collaboration across a wide range of methodological approaches and thus also look to relevant work in the social sciences. The Positive Humanities are especially interested in the practical effects of the relationship between culture and flourishing. Under what circumstances and for whom does cultural engagement increase human flourishing? Are there ways in which culture presents obstacles to flourishing? If so, who is most affected by these obstacles? Perhaps most important, how can cultural engagement be intentionally optimized to help all individuals and communities thrive? These practical questions connect the Positive Humanities to the educational institutions, cultural organizations, and creative industries through which the humanities are typically studied and experienced. With all this in mind, the Positive Humanities can be defined in more detail as “the interdisciplinary, multi-industry, and cross-sector examination and optimization of the relationship between the experience, creation, and study of human culture and the understanding, assessment, and cultivation of human flourishing.” 11 In the remainder of this essay, I discuss five specific recommendations from the Positive Humanities for strengthening the focus of the humanities on human flourishing. 12

The first recommendation is to emphasize wisdom as much as knowledge. In an academic environment that prioritizes and rewards the creation of new knowledge, it is easy to succumb to a kind of intellectualization, focusing more, for example, on the analysis of texts than on the practice of the wisdom contained in those texts. Literary scholar Helen Small gives a definition of the humanities as the study of “the meaning-making practices of human cultures, past and present, focusing on interpretation and critical evaluation, primarily in terms of the individual response and with an ineliminable element of subjectivity.” 13 It is easy for the study of meaning-making practices in the humanities to become an intellectual exercise, quite removed from the practical ability to make meaning effectively oneself, and the humanities today tend to focus more on the analysis of meaning-making than on the creation of meaning. To be sure, knowledge about meaning-making is important, as are skills of interpretation and critical evaluation, but they are insufficient to meet the practical goals of human flourishing that initially inspired the humanities as a program of study. The humanities were intended not just to be a theoretical enterprise but a deeply practical one. I remember one of my philosophy professors in graduate school sneering about the undergraduates coming to him for wisdom, thinking that what he studied and taught could provide guidance for their lives. In the academy, the humanities curriculum has all too often become a way of knowing, with ways of living relegated to student services divisions and campus counseling centers. Important as the work of these divisions and centers is, however, it is vital to understand human flourishing as a central part of the research and teaching mission of higher education. The acquisition of knowledge must not be disconnected from the practice of wisdom. Aristotle argued that the aim of the study of ethics is not just to learn what virtue is, but to become virtuous; so, too, the aim of the study of the humanities should not be merely to know what human flourishing is, but to flourish. 14

There are, of course, many scholars in the humanities who resist the pressures of intellectualization and remain committed to the practical goals of the humanities. And there are many students who resist the pressures of approaching the humanities merely as a set of academic requirements, a body of knowledge to master on the way to obtaining a degree. They value not just learning about the humanities but also learning from them. My concern is that doing so requires these scholars and students to overcome a misalignment between the basic purposes and goals of the humanities and the conditions under which they are typically taught and studied. My further concern is that so many scholars and students do not overcome this misalignment, depriving them of the most important benefits of the humanities for human flourishing and making it less likely that students will value the humanities enough to continue to engage with them. 15

The second recommendation for strengthening the focus of the humanities on human flourishing is to emphasize collaboration as much as specialization. Many humanities scholars are used to working alone, or even in isolation. This approach may be effective for producing articles and monographs on specialized topics, but it is inadequate for exploring the full range of meanings and practices of human flourishing. And it is especially inadequate for applying them in ways that are fitting and effective for fostering individual and collective flourishing. The common goal of conceptualizing and cultivating human flourishing can bring together scholars within and across different disciplines in the humanities, as well as bridge divides between scholars and makers of culture. A renewal of the focus of the humanities on human flourishing also requires collaboration between the academic humanities, chiefly located within institutions of higher education, and the public humanities, which emphasize the work of the humanities in communities, cultural organizations, and creative industries beyond colleges and universities. 16

Just as important for human flourishing is collaboration between the humanities and the sciences. These two domains have always been included in the liberal arts, but there have been quarrels between them since ancient times. 17 The divide between them was widened by Renaissance humanists, who excluded the quadrivium from their program of study, as they considered the sciences unhelpful for human flourishing. 18 Whether or not this was true of ancient and medieval approaches, it is certainly not true of the sciences today. Although questions of human flourishing have traditionally belonged to the domain of the humanities, the sciences-and especially the social sciences-have devoted much attention to them over the last few decades. Much work has been done in psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and neuroscience, which has influenced domains as diverse as psychiatry, medicine, public health, organizational studies, education, law, and government. Psychology, for example, has undergone a eudaimonic turn, catalyzed in large part by the founding of a new branch of the discipline: positive psychology. It is worth pausing to explore this development in psychology in more detail, as it has important implications for the Positive Humanities.

Positive psychology has been defined as “the scientific study of what enables individuals and societies to thrive.” 19 Launching the field during his presidential address to the American Psychological Association in 1998, Martin Seligman argued that psychology had become fixated on the study and treatment of psychopathology. He claimed that work on mental illness is valuable but that on its own it is too narrow to achieve psychology's broader mission of making the lives of all people better. This mission cannot be fulfilled merely by removing obstacles to better lives, he contended, but also requires the study and cultivation of the actual constituents of individual and collective flourishing. 20

Positive psychologists typically study human flourishing in terms of well-being, which can be defined as “optimal psychological functioning and experience.” 21 As I have observed elsewhere, positive psychology is proceeding in both a complementary and a comprehensive mode in its study of well-being. 22 In its complementary mode, it understands mainstream psychology as focused on what delays or destroys well-being-on the mitigation of ill-being-and thus as “indirectly positive.” Positive psychology, by contrast, is focused on what causes or constitutes well-being-on the promotion of well-being - and thus is “directly positive.” 23 Accordingly, work in the field includes topics like gratitude, awe, love, flow, grit, character strengths, healthy relationships, psychological richness, and meaning and purpose in life. In its comprehensive mode, positive psychology relies on a balance between indirect, mitigative approaches and direct, promotional approaches in support of what is contextually optimal, of what is desirable or preferable under specific conditions and in particular settings. In most real-life situations, the best way to make life better is through a combination of removing ill-being and increasing well-being. The ideal here is sustainable preference , in which the short- and long-term well-being interests of each individual and of all groups in a society are respected and supported. 24 This ideal cannot be achieved-or even approached-without deep collaboration across all disciplines and fields with a connection to human flourishing.

The third recommendation is to emphasize the positive as much as the negative. It is not only in mainstream psychology that the focus has been on ill-being, on the obstacles to human flourishing. Across much of the work in the humanities over the past few decades, there has been a strong focus on surfacing latent psychopathologies and corrosive ideologies in texts and other forms of culture. 25 In some circles, the methodology of critical theory, using what philosopher Paul Ricoeur identified as a “hermeneutics of suspicion,” 26 has been used so extensively for these purposes that there has not been much room for other approaches. 27 It is important, of course, to be aware of very real problems like alienation, injustice, and malfeasance and the surreptitious ways they can obstruct flourishing for so many individuals and groups. A fixation on what can go wrong, however, often obscures what can go right, leading to missed opportunities for direct action to foster flourishing. At its founding, the World Health Organization defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” 28 In a similar way, it is important to understand flourishing as more than just the absence of languishing. For this reason, it is crucial to make room for what Ricoeur called “hermeneutics as a restoration of meaning” 29 and has been referred to as a “hermeneutics of affirmation.” 30 Flourishing requires as much attention to its conceptualization and direct cultivation as it does to the understanding and overcoming of obstacles to its realization.

Similar to positive psychology, the Positive Humanities function in both a complementary and a comprehensive mode. In their complementary mode, they emphasize the study of the nature and constituents of human flourishing. Some important work along these lines has already begun to emerge in a variety of humanities disciplines. Examples include Darrin McMahon's work on the intellectual history of happiness; 31 Daniel Haybron's and Valerie Tiberius's work on the philosophy of happiness, well-being, and the good life; 32 Menachem Mautner's exploration of the central role art can play in human flourishing; 33 Ellen Charry's positive theology and Miroslav Volf's theology of joy; 34 and in literary studies, Eve Sedgwick's call for “reparative” interpretations, James O. Pawelski and D. J. Moores's advancement of a eudaimonic turn, and Rita Felski's advocacy for a “positive aesthetics.” 35

In their comprehensive mode, the Positive Humanities advocate for a balanced integration of suspicion and affirmation in the interests of optimizing flourishing in real-life circumstances. Just as a garden requires both weeding and planting to flourish, so our lives and communities require both attention to what delays or destroys human flourishing and to what causes or constitutes it. The optimization of well-being in any context requires a balanced integration of indirect, mitigative approaches and direct, promotional approaches to human flourishing. In this comprehensive mode, for example, the Positive Humanities value critique for the insights it can yield into ways culture sometimes undermines flourishing, and they seek to integrate these insights with reparative and constructive work for advancing individual and collective human flourishing.

The fourth recommendation is to emphasize effective friction as much as increased efficiency. One of the most common critiques of the humanities is that they are inefficient. As mentioned earlier, students are facing rising vocational pressures, with education often viewed merely in terms of job preparation. If the only goal of education is the short-term aim of landing a job- and one that pays as well as possible-then it makes sense to study subjects that will lead directly to desirable employment. Since jobs in technology, business, and medicine pay more than jobs in the humanities, the thinking goes, it is best to spend one's time in the classroom studying stem subjects or completing professional programs. Taking courses in the humanities is seen as unnecessary at best and wasteful or distracting at worst.

It is not just in education that efficiency is extolled. Psychologist Barry Schwartz argues that the “modern world is characterized by the worship of efficiency.” 36 Citing examples from manufacturing, commerce, and finance, he observes that increasing efficiency by removing friction from these processes is seen as essential to progress. Economists, he notes, hold that the only way to improve a society's standard of living is to increase efficiency. Schwartz points out, however, that while some efficiency is no doubt good, more efficiency may not be better, especially in cases where there is uncertainty. He cites insurance as an example. In a world where you know your house will not burn down, carrying fire insurance is a waste. But in the world we live in-a world characterized by uncertainty-fire insurance is a wise inefficiency, a worthwhile friction. Schwartz concludes that in our uncertain world, the most reasonable goals are not ones that maximize efficiency under normal conditions, but rather options that lead to satisfactory results under a wide range of possible conditions. In a world of uncertainty, narrow efficiency is unlikely to be the most effective path to long-term success. This is especially true when that narrow efficiency is limited to economic considerations but success is understood broadly in terms of human flourishing. Economic factors are important for human flourishing, but they are by no means the only things that are.

Emotion research supports this understanding of the limited value of efficiency under conditions of uncertainty. Negative emotions like anger, fear, disgust, and sadness are quite efficient, often co-opting our physiology to prepare us for attack, escape, avoidance, or withdrawal even before we are consciously aware of having a problem. Positive emotions like joy, serenity, and awe also have physiological components, but it is not as easy to identify what, if anything, they prepare us to do. This led to a bias against positive emotions until psychologist Barbara Fredrickson proposed the “broaden-and-build” model of positive emotions. 37 Her research showed that while negative emotions helpfully narrow our attention, cognition, and behavior in times of danger, positive emotions broaden attention, cognition, and behavior in times of safety. This broadening does not just feel good, but it makes us more creative and allows us to build enduring physical, psychological, and social resources. Negative emotions can be life-saving in the short term, but positive emotions can be life-saving in the long term by helping us to be better prepared for as-yet-unseen dangers when they do arise. From a short-term perspective, positive emotions are inefficient; their effectiveness becomes clear only over the long term.

Similar to economic friction and positive emotions, the humanities can seem inefficient when considered in the short term. Courses in ethics, literature, or theater may or may not teach skills that lead directly to employment, but they can broaden our experience of the world and allow us to build enduring resources that may help us remain creatively resilient in times of unforeseen adversity. We live in a world of uncertainty, where novel problems often arise, for which it is not possible to prepare directly and efficiently. In these situations, broad preparation in the humanities may help us be most effective in facing the difficulties. And although studying the humanities may or may not be the most effective means of taking maximal advantage of immediate employment opportunities, it may be of great value in preparing for the employment needs of the future.

The key here is an Aristotelian mean between excess and deficiency. Too much efficiency can lead to ruinous rigidity, but too little efficiency can lead to a wasteful squandering of time and resources. Keeping human flourishing in mind as the ultimate goal can provide a prudent corrective to both extremes. The humanities should not be forced to yield immediate returns on investment; nor, however, should they be absolved from making significant eudaimonic contributions to our lives.

The fifth and final recommendation is to emphasize the flourishing of humans as much as the flourishing of the humanities. In particular, I would like to recommend the establishment of a new set of indicators for tracking the relationship between the humanities and human flourishing. Since 2009, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has published the Humanities Indicators, collecting and disseminating key data about the infrastructure of the humanities in the United States. 38 The Humanities Indicators do an excellent job of gathering, analyzing, and reporting quantitative data on the humanities, but they are aimed at measuring the flourishing of the humanities and not the flourishing of the humans engaged in them. They are aimed at measuring many of the extrinsic benefits of the humanities, but not their intrinsic benefits, things like captivation, pleasure, empathy, cognitive growth, social bonds, and communal meaning. 39 Given the traditional connection between the humanities and the understanding and fostering of human flourishing, I believe it is time to create Humanities and Human Flourishing Indicators. Building on the tremendous work of the Humanities Indicators, this new set of measures would focus on tracking how successfully the humanities support the understanding and cultivation of human flourishing. Do the humanities increase human flourishing? If so, in what specific ways? Who is benefiting from this increase? Who is not yet benefiting? Are there unseen harms that are sometimes caused through the humanities? Are there particular ways of engaging with the humanities that are more effective at leading to greater flourishing? How can we optimize the well-being effects of engagement with the humanities?

The social sciences can make considerable methodological contributions to this work. For decades, psychologists have been assessing human flourishing through validated measures of subjective well-being (consisting of high life satisfaction, high positive affect, and low negative affect) 40 and psychological well-being (understood in terms of six dimensions: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance). 41 Psychologists continue to develop new instruments (such as the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving, the perma -Profiler, and the Psychologically Rich Life Questionnaire) 42 and to invent and refine methods (such as questionnaires, experience sampling methodologies, and Big Data) for the scientific study of human flourishing. 43 Well-being is not merely a matter for psychology, of course, and it is important to move beyond psychology's traditional emphasis on the study of individuals to include work from other social sciences that focuses on ways in which communities and societies function. Epidemiologist Tyler Vander-Weele, for example, takes a more comprehensive approach to human flourishing, integrating perspectives from across the social sciences, including psychology, economics, medicine, public heath, and other disciplines. He has developed a measure of human flourishing that covers six different domains: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and financial and material stability. 44 This measure is part of a Global Flourishing Study to assess the flourishing of nearly a quarter of a million participants in twenty-two countries over five years. 45 The Humanities and Human Flourishing Indicators could also be informed by work that is being done in the arts and well-being in collaboration with the sciences and medicine. 46

However competently and comprehensively work on the Humanities and Human Flourishing Indicators is carried out, it will be crucial to keep in mind that empirical assessment of the role of the humanities in human flourishing can only complement and not replace the more traditional ways scholars have thought and written about culture and well-being. A broad range of approaches is necessary to examine something as complex as the relationship between the humanities and human flourishing. It is just as crucial to keep in mind that empirical assessment of the role of the humanities in human flourishing must be a collaborative enterprise that includes humanities scholars and practitioners as equal partners with scientists, since they have invaluable insights into the nature of human flourishing and the various ways the humanities can foster it. Scientific investigation must be informed and guided by the experience and reflection of those who dedicate their lives to the creation and study of culture. Finally, it is equally crucial to make clear that this empirical assessment is not about measuring the worth of the humanities. The intrinsic benefits of the humanities must be distinguished from their intrinsic worth, which will no doubt forever remain beyond the reach of scientific measurement. Research on the intrinsic benefits of the humanities cannot be legitimately used to try to create hierarchies of cultures or of cultural forms, and any attempts to do so must be strongly repudiated. With these important caveats in mind, however, collaborative empirical assessment can be uniquely valuable for measuring a range of definable and observable effects of engagement with the humanities on specific aspects of individual and collective human flourishing. The great promise of this work is not only the creation of new knowledge but also the development of evidence-based practices for optimizing the positive effects of humanities engagement on human flourishing across a variety of cultural contexts.

I believe that these five recommendations from the Positive Humanities can help support a eudaimonic turn in the humanities. As I noted at the outset of this essay, human flourishing is a basic and enduring concern of the humanities. There is a real sense, then, in which a eudaimonic turn in the humanities is, in fact, a eudaimonic return, not to some idyllic past (no society has fully realized the promise of human flourishing), but to the questions and concerns that gave rise to the humanities in the first place and that have been at their core for most of their history. It is a return that is required of each generation of scholars as they explore and develop ways of flourishing fitting for their times. In the contemporary context, this return must address the basic questions and concerns of the humanities in fresh ways, informed by the considerable depth and range of new knowledge at our disposal and guided by the complex opportunities and challenges presented by our current cultural realities. 47

This eudaimonic turn in the humanities can bring a number of important benefits. It can help address what literary scholar and essayist Louis Menand has called a “crisis of rationale” in the humanities, with scholars themselves in disagreement about the fundamental nature and purpose of the humanities and thus unable to communicate their value clearly to students, parents, philanthropists, policy-makers, and the general public. 48 A eudaimonic turn can provide a unifying and communicable rationale for the humanities. It can enable scholars to work together to understand more deeply how human flourishing has been defined and fostered in the past in cultures across the globe and how it can be more effectively conceptualized and cultivated in our world today. The goal here is not the establishment of an orthodoxy. On the contrary, a diversity of perspectives can provide a much-needed richness of inquiry, helping to inform and guide well-being research in the sciences, and opening up new possibilities for human flourishing that are more equitable and widespread than ever before and that support the flourishing of the nonhuman world as well. Moreover, these types of approaches are likely to attract and retain students in humanities courses and programs.

More importantly, these new approaches, with their benefits for the humanities, can also benefit humanity. An explicit focus on understanding and fostering individual and collective human flourishing can be of considerable benefit to the millions of students who study the humanities each year. Because of the central role the humanities play for so many students across so many educational levels and programs, such a focus promises significant and enduring positive effects. Outside the classroom, a eudaimonic turn in the humanities can inform, inspire, and support the work of museums, libraries, performing arts centers, and even entire creative industries (such as in music, movies, and publishing) to advance human flourishing more broadly and justly in our society. Although such work is not easy, it is deeply meaningful, with the aim of exploring and enriching the relationship between culture and human flourishing, and, in so doing, carrying forward a central and perennial purpose of the humanities and opening new possibilities of flourishing for humanity.

This essay was supported, in part, by grants from the Templeton Religion Trust and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as by resources provided by the University of Pennsylvania. The opinions expressed in this essay are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Templeton Religion Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, or the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to my gratitude for this financial support, I am thankful to the growing international network of more than 150 scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students whose collaborative participation in the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project over the years has deeply informed and shaped this work. Finally, I am grateful to Rob Townsend, Norman Bradburn, and the other contributors to this issue of Dædalus on “The Humanities in American Life,” as well as to my colleagues Darrin McMahon and Sarah Sidoti, for their support and insightful questions and suggestions for improving an earlier draft of this essay.

Darrin M. McMahon, “The History of the Humanities and Human Flourishing,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities , ed. Louis Tay and James O. Pawelski (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022), 48.

Christopher S. Celenza, Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer (London: Reaktion Books, 2017), 100.

Cicero, Pro Archia , 3.

Paul O. Kristeller, Renaissance Thought II: Papers on Humanism and the Arts (New York: Harper & Row, 1965), 178; and Robert E. Proctor, Defining the Humanities: How Rediscovering a Tradition Can Improve Our Schools , 2nd ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), 10, 38–39.

Jill Barshay, “PROOF POINTS: The Number of College Graduates in the Humanities Drops for the Eighth Consecutive Year,” The Hechinger Report, November 22, 2021, https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-the-number-of-college-graduates-in-the-humanities-drops-for-the-eighth-consecutive-year .

National College Health Assessment, American College Health Association, “Publications and Reports,” https://www.acha.org/NCHA/ACHA-NCHA_Data/Publications_and_Reports/NCHA/Data/Publications_and_Reports.aspx?hkey=d5fb767c-d15d-4efc-8c41-3546d92032c5 (accessed December 11, 2021).

Oxford English Dictionary , 2nd ed., s.v. “humanities,” https://www-oed-com.proxy.library.upenn.edu/view/Entry/89280?redirectedFrom=humanities#eid311537170 (accessed December 11, 2021).

James O. Pawelski, “The Positive Humanities: Culture and Human Flourishing,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities , ed. Tay and Pawelski, 20.

Kevin F. McCarthy, Elizabeth H. Ondaatje, Laura Zakaras, and Arthur Brooks, Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate about the Benefits of the Arts (Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, 2004), 44–52; and Yerin Shim, Louis Tay, Michaela Ward, and James O. Pawelski, “The Arts and Humanities: An Integrative Conceptual Framework for Psychological Research,” Review of General Psychology 23 (2) (2019): 166–167, https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268019832847 .

James O. Pawelski, “What is the Eudaimonic Turn?” in The Eudaimonic Turn: Well-Being in Literary Studies , ed. James O. Pawelski and D. J. Moores (Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2013), 3; and Pawelski, “The Positive Humanities,” 26.

Pawelski, “The Positive Humanities,” 33.

For more information on the Positive Humanities, see Tay and Pawelski, eds., The Oxford Handbook of the Positive Humanities . Also, an important source of support for the Positive Humanities is the Humanities and Human Flourishing (HHF) Project at the University of Pennsylvania. Since its founding in 2014, the HHF has developed into a growing international and multidisciplinary network of more than 150 humanities scholars, scientific researchers, creative practitioners, college and university educators, wellness officers, policy experts, members of government, and leaders of cultural organizations. For more information on the HHF, visit www.humanitiesandhumanflourishing.org .

Helen Small, The Value of the Humanities (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 23.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics , II. ii. 1.

For a further discussion of this misalignment, including steps that can be taken to overcome it in the teaching of philosophy, see James O. Pawelski, “Teaching Philosophy: The Love of Wisdom and the Cultivation of Human Flourishing,” in Philosophy and Human Flourishing , ed. John J. Stuhr (New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

For more information on the public humanities and attempts to bridge the gap between them and the academic humanities, see essays by Susan Smulyan, Carin Berkowitz and Matthew Gibson, Denise Meringolo, and Fath Davis Ruffins in this issue of Dædalus . For a review of the empirical literature in one of these collaborative domains, see Katherine N. Cotter and James O. Pawelski, “Art Museums as Institutions for Human Flourishing,” Journal of Positive Psychology 17 (2) (2022).

Small, The Value of the Humanities , 37–38.

Proctor, Defining the Humanities , 21–23.

Constitution of the International Positive Psychology Association, Article 1, Section 2.

Martin E. P. Seligman, “The President's Address,” American Psychologist 54 (8) (1999): 559–562.

Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci, “On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being,” Annual Review of Psychology 52 (2001): 142.

James O. Pawelski, “Defining the ‘Positive’ in Positive Psychology: Part II. A Normative Analysis,” Journal of Positive Psychology 11 (4) (2016): 361–362, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137628 ; and Pawelski, “The Positive Humanities,” 28.

Pawelski, “Defining the ‘Positive’ in Positive Psychology,” 358–359.

Ibid., 363; and Pawelski, “The Positive Humanities,” 28.

D. J. Moores, “The Eudaimonic Turn in Literary Studies,” in The Eudaimonic Turn , ed. Pawelski and Moores, 27.

Paul Ricoeur, Freud and Philosophy: An Essay on Interpretation (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1970), 32–36.

Moores, “The Eudaimonic Turn in Literary Studies,” 27; and Rita Felski, Uses of Literature (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2008), 3.

Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization, Official Records of the World Health Organization, No. 2 (New York: World Health Organization, 1948), 100.

Ricoeur, Freud and Philosophy , 28.

Moores, “The Eudaimonic Turn in Literary Studies,” 27.

Darrin M. McMahon, Happiness: A History (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006).

Daniel M. Haybron, The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008); Valerie Tiberius, The Reflective Life: Living Wisely with Our Limits (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008); and Valerie Tiberius, Well-Being as Value Fulfillment: How We Can Help Each Other to Live Well (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).

Menachem Mautner, Human Flourishing, Liberal Theory, and the Arts (Oxford: Routledge, 2018).

Ellen Charry, God and the Art of Happiness (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 2010); and Miroslav Volf and Justin E. Crisp, eds., Joy and Human Flourishing: Essays on Theology, Culture, and the Good Life (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015).

Eve K. Sedgwick, “Paranoid Reading and Reparative Reading: Or, You're So Paranoid, You Probably Think This Introduction Is About You,” in Novel Gazing: Queer Readings in Fiction , ed. Eve K. Sedgwick (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1997), 1–37; Pawelski and Moores, The Eudaimonic Turn; Felski, Uses of Literature; and Rita Felski, The Limits of Critique (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015).

Barry Schwartz, “Security: Tradeoffs between Efficiency and Friction, Freedom and Constraint,” Journal of Positive Psychology 17 (2) (2022).

Barbara Fredrickson, “What Good Are Positive Emotions?” Review of General Psychology 2 (3) (1998): 307.

For more information on the rationale for and purpose of the Humanities Indicators, see the report that launched them: Robert M. Solow, Phyllis Franklin, Calvin C. Jones, et al., Making the Humanities Count: The Importance of Data (Cambridge, Mass.: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2002).

McCarthy et al., Gifts of the Muse , 44–52. See also Shim et al., “The Arts and Humanities: An Integrative Conceptual Framework for Psychological Research,” 166–167. In its latest report, the Humanities Indicators included an item on life satisfaction, which I believe is a step in the right direction. See American Academy of Arts and Sciences, State of the Humanities 2021 , 7.

Ed Diener, “Assessing Subjective Well-Being: Progress and Opportunities,” Social Indicators Research 31 (2) (1994): 103–157.

Carol D. Ryff and Corey Lee M. Keyes, “The Structure of Psychological Well-Being Revisited,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69 (4) (1995): 719–727.

Rong Su, Louis Tay, and Ed Diener, “The Development and Validation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT) and the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT),” Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 6 (3) (2014): 251–279, https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12027 ; Julie Butler and Margaret L. Kern, “The PERMA-Profiler: A Brief Multidimensional Measure of Flourishing,” International Journal of Wellbeing 6 (3) (2016): 1–48, https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v613.526 ; and Shigehiro Oishi, Hyewon Choi, Nicholas Buttrick, et al., “The Psychologically Rich Life Questionnaire,” Journal of Research in Personality 81 (2019): 269, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2019.06.010 .

Christie Napa Scollon, Chu Kim-Prieto, and Ed Diener, “Experience Sampling: Promises and Pitfalls, Strengths and Weaknesses,” Journal of Happiness Studies 4 (2003): 5–34; and Sang Eun Woo, Louis Tay, and Robert W. Proctor, eds., Big Data in Psychological Research (Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2020).

Tyler J. VanderWeele, “On the Promotion of Human Flourishing,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114 (31) (2017): 8153–8154.

The Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, “Global Flourishing Study,” https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/global-flourishing-study?admin_panel=1 (accessed December 12, 2021).

See, for example, Daisy Fancourt and Saoirse Finn, What Is the Evidence on the Role of the Arts in Improving Health and Well-Being? A Scoping Review , Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report 67 (Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2019); and NeuroArts Blueprint: Advancing the Science of Arts, Health, and Well-Being, The Aspen Institute, https://neuroartsblueprint.org (accessed December 11, 2021).

Pawelski, “What is the Eudaimonic Turn?” 17.

Louis Menand, “The Marketplace of Ideas,” American Council of Learned Societies Occasional Paper No. 49 (New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 2001), http://archives.acls.org/op/49_Marketplace_of_Ideas.htm .

Email alerts

Related articles, related book chapters, affiliations.

Online ISSN 1548-6192
Print ISSN 0011-5266

A product of The MIT Press

Mit press direct.

About MIT Press Direct

Information

Accessibility
For Authors
For Customers
For Librarians
Direct to Open
Open Access
Media Inquiries
Rights and Permissions
For Advertisers
About the MIT Press
The MIT Press Reader
MIT Press Blog
Seasonal Catalogs
MIT Press Home
Give to the MIT Press
Direct Service Desk
Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Crossref Member
COUNTER Member
The MIT Press colophon is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Eco Criticism › Ecocriticism: An Essay

Ecocriticism: An Essay

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on November 27, 2016 • ( 3 )

Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the correction of the contemporary environmental situation. Ecocriticism was officially heralded by the publication of two seminal works, both published in the mid-1990s: The Ecocriticism Reader , edited by Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm , and The Environmental Imagination, by Lawrence Buell.

Ecocriticism investigates the relation between humans and the natural world in literature. It deals with how environmental issues, cultural issues concerning the environment and attitudes towards nature are presented and analyzed. One of the main goals in ecocriticism is to study how individuals in society behave and react in relation to nature and ecological aspects. This form of criticism has gained a lot of attention during recent years due to higher social emphasis on environmental destruction and increased technology. It is hence a fresh way of analyzing and interpreting literary texts, which brings new dimensions to the field of literary and theoritical studies. Ecocriticism is an intentionally broad approach that is known by a number of other designations, including “green (cultural) studies”, “ecopoetics”, and “environmental literary criticism.”

Western thought has often held a more or less utilitarian attitude to nature —nature is for serving human needs. However, after the eighteenth century, there emerged many voices that demanded a revaluation of the relationship between man and environment, and man’s view of nature. Arne Naess , a Norwegian philosopher, developed the notion of “Deep Ecology” which emphasizes the basic interconnectedness of all life forms and natural features, and presents a symbiotic and holistic world-view rather than an anthropocentric one.

Earlier theories in literary and cultural studies focussed on issue of class, race, gender, region are criteria and “subjects”of critical analysis. The late twentieth century has woken up to a new threat: ecological disaster. The most important environmental problems that humankind faces as a whole are: nuclear war, depletion of valuable natural resources, population explosion, proliferation of exploitative technologies, conquest of space preliminary to using it as a garbage dump, pollution, extinction of species (though not a human problem) among others. In such a context, literary and cultural theory has begun to address the issue as a part of academic discourse. Numerous green movements have sprung up all over the world, and some have even gained representations in the governments.

Large scale debates over “dumping,” North versus South environmentalism (the necessary differences between the en-vironmentalism of the developed and technologically advanced richer nations—the North, and the poorer, subsistence environmentalism of the developing or “Third World”—the South). Donald Worster ‘s Nature’s Economy (1977) became a textbook for the study of ecological thought down the ages. The historian Arnold Toynbee recorded the effect of human civilisation upon the land and nature in his monumental, Mankind and Mother Earth (1976). Environmental issues and landscape use were also the concern of the Annales School of historians , especially Braudel and Febvre. The work of environmental historians has been pathbreaking too. Rich-ard Grove et al’s massive Nature and the Orient (1998), David Arnold and Ramachandra Guha’s Nature, Culture, Imperialism (1995) have been significant work in the environmental history of India and Southeast Asia. Ramachandra Guha is of course the most important environmental historian writing from India today.

Various versions of environmentalism developed.Deep ecology and ecofeminism were two important developments. These new ideas questioned the notion of “development” and “modernity,” and argued that all Western notions in science, philosophy, politics were “anthropocentric” (human-centred) and “androcentric”(Man/male-centred). Technology, medical science with its animal testing, the cosmetic and fashion industry all came in for scrutiny from environmentalists. Deep ecology, for instance, stressed on a “biocentric” view (as seen in the name of the environmentalist group, “ Earth First! !”).

Ecocriticism is the result of this new consciousness: that very soon, there will be nothing beautiful (or safe) in nature to discourse about, unless we are very careful.

Ecocritics ask questions such as: (1) How is nature represented in the novel/poem/play ? (2) What role does the physical-geographical setting play in the structure of the novel? (3) How do our metaphors of the land influence the way we treat it? That is, what is the link between pedagogic or creative practice and actual political, sociocultural and ethical behaviour towards the land and other non-human life forms? (4) How is science —in the form of genetic engineering, technologies of reproduction, sexualities—open to critical scrutiny terms of the effects of science upon the land?

The essential assumptions, ideas and methods of ecocritics may be summed up as follows. (1) Ecocritics believe that human culture is related to the physical world. (2) Ecocriticism assumes that all life forms are interlinked. Ecocriticism expands the notion of “the world” to include the entire ecosphere. (3) Moreover, there is a definite link between nature and culture, where the literary treatment, representation and “thematisation” of land and nature influence actions on the land. (4) Joseph Meeker in an early work, The Comedy of Survival: Studies in Literary Ecology (1972) used the term “literary ecology” to refer to “the study of biological themes and relationships which appear in literary works. It is simultaneously an attempt to discover what roles have been played by literature in the ecology of the human species.” (5) William Rueckert is believed to have coined the term “ecocriticism” in 1978, which he defines as “the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature.”

Source: Literary Theory Today,Pramod K Nair

an essay on poetry and the development of humanity

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS

Kingsley & Kate Tufts Poetry Blog

Defining the Role of Poetry in Society: The Ongoing Conversation

The Poetic Principle: Poe on Truth, Love, Reason, and the Human Impulse for Beauty

www.themarginalian.org

PRINT ARTICLE

A Brief History of Poetry: Exploring the Evolution of Poetry Through the Ages

The Origin of Poetry & Poem

Folk Poetry

Ancient Civilizations

Role of Religion and Mythology

Evolution of Poetry

The Renaissance and the revival of classical forms

The Romantic Movement and the emphasis on self-expression

Types of Poetry

What is a Dramatic Poetry?

What is a Free Verse Poetry?

What is an Epic Poetry?

What is Performance Poetry?

Modern poetry has evolved from traditional forms in several ways

Importance of Understanding Poetry’s Origins

How has technology, such as social media, impacted how poetry is written and shared in the 21st century?

How has the publication and distribution of poetry changed in the 21st century?

Related Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

1 1 Ethics, Literature, and the Place of Poetry

Signed in as

Personal account

Institutional access

IP based access

Sign in through your institution

Sign in with a library card

Society Members

Sign in through society site

Sign in using a personal account

Viewing your signed in accounts

Signed in but can't access content

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Share This Book

1. "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

8.8: Writing About Poetry

Observations

Word Choice, Or Diction

Sample Analysis

A Note on Organization

Main navigation

User account menu

Poems about Living and Human Experience

Newsletter Sign Up

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Email alerts

A product of The MIT Press

Information

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Literary Theory and Criticism

Ecocriticism: An Essay

Share this:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS