Lanier Essay, Research Paper

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Musical and Religious Influences on Sidney Lanier & # 8217 ; s Poetry

Arguably, a author & # 8217 ; s works reflects many influences. After all, a author is a merchandise of his background, his times, and his geographical location, among other factors. Sidney Lanier was no exclusion. Like all other authors, he necessarily drew from his ain experiences to make his plants. An outstanding Southern poet, he wrote poesy widely recognized for its musical quality and spiritual feeling.

Sidney Lanier was an outstanding Southern poet. He achieved a great trade in such a short sum of clip. He acquired latent TB while in the Confederate Army, a disease that finally killed him. He has been cited as an illustration of a author who could hold achieved more had he lived longer ( Magill 1927 ) . At the clip of his decease at age 39, his calling was merely acquiring started. The last old ages of his life, about 1877 to 1881, were the fullest and most productive. Lanier was born on February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia ( Magill 1923 ) . He wrote 164 verse forms and several novels ( 1926 ) . A few illustrations of his poesy includes ; & # 8220 ; The Marshes of Glynn, & # 8221 ; & # 8220 ; The Symphony, & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Song of the Chattahoochee & # 8221 ; ( & # 8221 ; Sidney Lanier & # 8221 ; ) . An illustration

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of his prose plants is Science of English Verse. This is a survey of the relationship between poesy and music ( & # 8221 ; Sidney Lanier & # 8221 ; ) . His captivation with the Hagiographas of Byron, Tennyson, Scott, and other love affair authors, led to the inspiration of his poesy ( & # 8221 ; Sidney Lanier: Poet of the Marshes & # 8221 ; ) . His love of nature and music led to his success as a poet and novelist ( & # 8221 ; Sidney Lanier: Poet of the Marshes & # 8221 ; ) . In the words of Stark Young, & # 8220 ; He was an astonishing poet, novelist, critic, and musician & # 8221 ; ( 3 ) .

During the 19th century, there were non many Southern authors. Therefore, Lanier set an illustration for future Southern authors to follow. He was the first typical Southern poet to accomplish a true national acknowledgment and credence ( Magill 1923-1924 ) . This award is normally given to Edgar Allan Poe who did much of his literary work in Britain and in the Northeast ( 1923 ) . Lanier, nevertheless, spent his full life in the South. He won for Southern poets and authors a grade of credibleness and regard which was unprecedented in American literature and which is still present today ( 1923 ) . Lanier besides became regarded as a spokesman for America, instead than a spokesman from merely the South ( 1923-1924 ) . He became nationally known and with this acknowledgment came national position ( 1923 ) .

One of Lanier & # 8217 ; s great achievements was that he was one of the first

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American poets to utilize idiom in his poetry ( Magill 1923 ) . This was found most notably in the & # 8220 ; Georgia cracker & # 8221 ; address exercised in & # 8220 ; Thar & # 8217 ; s More in the Man Than Thar Is in the Land & # 8221 ; ( 1924 ) . In this he gave a practical solution to the economic jobs of the postwar South ( 1924 ) . Literary historiographers have said that Lanier had a minimum influence on other authors but, the influence most apparent was in his post-civil war regional idioms ( 1927 ) .

He was besides an early practician of & # 8220 ; local-color & # 8221 ; composing ( Magill 1924 ) . This manner of composing flourished towards the terminal of the 19th century ( 1924 ) . Lanier contained such a strong societal scruples, that he was known for his poetic intervention of economic troubles ( 1924 ) . Lanier ne’er truly stayed with one manner of authorship. He experimented with different signifiers of poesy. He is recognized for his ambitious efforts at metrical invention every bit good as his attempt at heightened musical effects in his poesy ( 1924 ) . He tried to explicate a scientific discipline of inflection which is correspondent to musical notation ( 1925 ) .

Lanier infused a great trade of musical quality in his poesy. His artistic disposition foremost displayed itself in music ( Webb and Coulson 6 ) . He demonstrated an exceeding musical ability at a immature age. He became an expert at the fiddle ( his favourite ) , guitar, organ, and flute ( Magill 1924 ) . This

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endowment came from a long line of musically gifted ascendants ( Webb and Coulson 6 ) . Music was besides an built-in portion of his formal instruction ( Magill 1924 ) . While he visited San Antonio, he was influenced by the Germans to prosecute a calling in music ( 1925 ) . In 1873, he began his calling as first flautist with the Peabody Orchestra of Baltimore. Because of his extraordinary endowment, he was able to keep this place for seven old ages ( 1926 ) . Lanier was one time told that to follow music took a great trade of work and he replied that it was & # 8220 ; non a affair of mere penchant, it was a religious necessity, I must be a musician, I could non assist it ( Webb and Coulson 9 ) . Lanier & # 8217 ; s desire to go a professional instrumentalist frequently diverted his clip and energies away from his calling as a poet

( 1925 ) . Magill one time said that “Lanier’s musical endowment was unfortunate: the typical musicalness of his poetry excessively frequently overpower [ ed ] the meaning” ( 1925 ) . This is shown in his verse form the “Song of the Chattahoochee.” In it, the consequence of comforting musicalness that Lanier was seeking to make became humdrum and overdone ( 1930 ) .

His verse form & # 8220 ; The Marshes of Glynn & # 8221 ; was likely his most of import verse form. In it the audience is transmitted into a part of words, the full look of his great musical gift, and his rich emotional and descriptive powers ( Young 2 ) . Lanier loved music so much more than as a pleasance ( Webb and Coulson

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9 ) . He interpreted music as love ( Mims 38 ) . He one time said that & # 8220 ; music is love in hunt of a word & # 8221 ; ( Mims 39 ) .

Sidney Lanier & # 8217 ; s poesy besides has a strong spiritual feeling. His life has been said to be as one of pureness and nobility, although he broke with Orthodox Christianity ( Webb and Coulson 9 ) . Still, he believed in God. He thought that human love and religion in the Lord were his lone solace ( Parks 26 ) . Besides, after reading the plants of Ralph Waldo Emerson, he adopted Emerson & # 8217 ; s thoughts of faith ( Magill 1930 ) . This in add-on to his deficiency of Orthodox spiritual religion fostered important alterations in the techniques and subjects of his verse form ( Magill 1931 ) . He believed that true faith did non intend abandoning oneself to every passion of the religion ( Parks 93 ) . This besides included non being a strong protagonist of go toing church because he felt that God revealed himself to adult male through music and poesy instead than through the church ( Parks 31 ) .

In his verse form & # 8220 ; The Symphony & # 8221 ; , he quoted Christ & # 8217 ; s words even though he had given up on his religion in the deity of Christ ( Parks 26 ) . He wrote & # 8220 ; A Ballad of Trees and the Master & # 8221 ; in which he spoke of his & # 8220 ; Master & # 8221 ; and his desire to follow his & # 8220 ; Master & # 8217 ; s & # 8221 ; footfalls. The verse form tied the forest and Christ together in stating that & # 8220 ; from under the trees they drew Him [ and ] twas on a tree they

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batch Him & # 8221 ; ( Morrison 572 ) . Another verse form by Lanier was & # 8220 ; The Crystal Christ. & # 8221 ; This was a verse form about the wisdom of God and how crowned head He is. This was a poem written as a testimonial to Christ that reveals a deep, sincere devotedness to & # 8220 ; adult male & # 8217 ; s best Man & # 8221 ; ( Webb and Coulson 68 ) .

Besides, in Lanier & # 8217 ; s poesy, he used a batch of symbolism to project his points. This is shown in & # 8220 ; Sunrise, & # 8221 ; when Lanier used three chief symbols: the unrecorded oak, which brought God to adult male ; the fen, which represented that from which adult male has evolved ; and the ocean, which illustrated immortality. A 4th symbol was subsequently added & # 8211 ; the Sun, which illustrated Christ ( 26 ) . Then in & # 8220 ; The Marshes of Glynn, & # 8221 ; he began with the association of the forest to that of spiritual religion, and from this point on, the verse form is devoted to religious affairs ( Magill 1931 ) . In this verse form, he often spoke of the & # 8220 ; illustriousness of God & # 8221 ; ( Morrison 116-117 ) . In this verse form he stated:

Behold I will construct me a nest on the illustriousness of God:

I will wing in the illustriousness of God as the marsh-hen flies

In the freedom that fills all the infinite? twixt the fen and the skies:

Oh, like to the illustriousness of God is the illustriousness within & # 8230 ; ( Webb and Coulson 68 ) .

His big, adoring nature expresses itself in the profoundly serious strain that

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tallies through this verse form ( 68 ) .

Sidney Lanier & # 8217 ; s poesy can besides be depicted as being close to nature. This is shown in his verse form, & # 8220 ; The Marshes Of Glynn. & # 8221 ; In it, he presented two concerns: the traditional belief that nature is the great refresher of work forces & # 8217 ; s psyches, and the position that one may happen the true God in the natural universe ( Magill 1932 ) . It was one time said that Lanier had one of the truest and richest nature-notes in American poesy ( Webb and Coulson 61 ) . In his verse form, nature serves as a comrade for adult male, to comfort and promote him ( 62 ) . Lanier used many symbols in his poesy to stand for his love and grasp of nature. In his verse form & # 8220 ; Corn, & # 8221 ; he uses symbols to depict his ain experiences while in Sunnyside, Georgia ( Magill 1928 ) . In it, he talks of the beauty of the maize and the corn field as the & # 8220 ; wind sweeps through it & # 8221 ; ( Mims 17 ) . He besides spoke of how the Southern husbandmans demanded harvests from the Earth without giving anything in return. Yet, when work forces learned to decently cultivate the dirt, there would be & # 8220 ; visions of aureate exchequers of maize & # 8221 ; ( Webb and Coulson 63 ) .

Sidney Lanier was a adult male of many endowments and achievements. Had his life non been cut so abruptly he may hold accomplished much more. Throughout his poesy, there is a clear differentiation of his infatuation with music, faith,

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and nature. Though he experimented with many types of poesy these three subjects ever echoed through his plants.