We will read these three poets’ works in the context of the cultural upheavals that took place in the last half of the 19th century. They confronted the political unrest that divided the nation and thrust it into a civil war; the changes in religious thought that discarded the vestiges of Puritanism, adopting nature based theologies and sometimes moving into deep skepticism; and the disruptions of scientific breakthroughs. Literarily and philosophically, their poetry displays shifts from Emersonian transcendentalism into less romantic, more realistic modes and beyond, to the harshness of Naturalism. Whitman, Dickinson, and Crane’s poetry reflects all these sweeping transitions. Still, they were fundamentally poets of the heart, and we will stress their personal experiences with God, with love, and with death.

Required Reading: Poems for this course will be available online. Participants will be given a syllabus in advance of the course.

Registration deadline: March 14