American Literature / Unit 10 AML 0904 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The 1855 Preface and the Poet as Nation
Captions available
The idea
The preface to the first edition argues that the United States are themselves essentially the greatest poem, and that here the common people are the source. The poet's job is to absorb the country as affectionately as it absorbs him.
In practice
The nation itself, read as a poem.
Where people slip
The claim is about common people, not institutions.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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