Throughout U.S. history, poets have used verse to illuminate public issues as well as private ones. Poems about voting, about battles, and about new technologies have always taken their place alongside poems about matters of the heart. Reading these poems illuminate the culture of another era through the eyes of its writers. If possible, looking at original, often hand written drafts, allow one to peer over the shoulders of poets at work, and to watch them struggle with ideas and their expression. Looking at poets’ rough drafts can help us see that even the greatest of artists still have to slog through the process of authorship and revision, and also can provide an opportunity to think about how a well-known poem might have been different in the revision process had ended earlier.
Poetry is a rather unique primary source that needs its own methodology. A useful article on close reading strategies for poetry is found here at recorded webinar and resources from the National Humanities Center. Teaching Through Close Readings - Webinar from the National Humanities Center Here are some other resources. This is a nice short introduction to historical poems. What does the video suggest are the unique qualities of historical poems? How are they different from other historical sources? |
Select Poems on Custer
and the Little Bighorn Walt Whitman (July 10, 1876) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1878) Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1896) Stephen Vincent Benet (1933) |
Here is another, m ore in depth, video about analyzing poetry in general. Analyzing the poems on their own terms before putting them in their historical context is a useful skill. Many historical minded people may need a refresher on analyzing poetry (just as many literary minded folks may need a refresher on analyzing historical sources!).