Question

Describe a few characteristics of 19th-century literature presented in our course. Illustrate those characteristics with specific detail from either Coreidge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Tennyson's Idylls of the King, or Whitman's poetry.

Answer 1

There are several characteristics that we could highlight about 19th-century literature and that are expressed in the work of these authors. For example, we can look at the poetry of Walt Whitman. In the poem "Song of Myself," Whitman talks about the importance of nature, as he compares himself to the natural world and argues that the two are one and the same.

He also talks about the supremacy of the individual over the group or the society by saying that everything that makes him which is of value is also present in everyone else. This supports the idea that Whitman finds humans intrinsically important.

Finally, Whitman is able to defy the social conventions of the time by placing himself as an outsider to regular society and instead, being a free spirit.