As seen in his poem “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” and his magnum opus, Paradise Lost, eminent British poet John Milton often juxtaposed astronomical and cosmological theories with Christian doctrine to emphasize God’s supremacy over competing religious and scientific ideologies. In “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” he incorporates imagery from various astronomical theories,... Continue Reading →
In his 1789 poetry collection Songs of Innocence, poet and artist William Blake presents subtle, often metaphorical criticism of the social injustices he observed in London, England, where he resided. Particularly, he criticizes the normalization of child labor that was prominent in the city at the time, as he focuses many poems on the soiled... Continue Reading →
As seen in George Crabbe’s 1783 poem “The Village,” Neoclassicist poets of the eighteenth century often referenced Greek and Roman mythology when writing about subjects they deemed timeless or historically relevant. This was, in part, due to a desire to incorporate an element of the Classical tradition into their own poetry. Following this convention, Crabbe’s... Continue Reading →
In his 1865 poem “O Captain! My Captain!” Walt Whitman temporarily sets aside his love for free verse poetry in order to craft a conventional elegy for President Abraham Lincoln. Permeating this poem, and perhaps what inspired its fame, is an extended metaphor that reflects Whitman’s perspective on the condition of the United States after... Continue Reading →
In her 1862 poem “Goblin Market,” Christina Rossetti addresses the concept of mental duality through the characters Laura and Lizzie, whom she implicitly describes as twin sisters. Throughout the poem, Laura and Lizzie’s actions show the disparity between their respective mental states, which represent the different sides of a single psyche that struggles to embrace... Continue Reading →
Valperga Literature Review 