American Literature
Unit 2: The Individual and Society
Dark Romanticism Study
A Poison Tree
by William Blake
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath1, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe2:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful3 wiles4.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore5 an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
1 anger
2 an enemy
3 misleading or false
4 a trick
5 to make or produce
“A Dream within a Dream”
by Edgar Allan Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
American Literature
Unit 2: The Individual and Society
Dark Romanticism Study
A Poison Tree
by William Blake
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath1, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe2:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful3 wiles4.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore5 an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
1 anger
2 an enemy
3 misleading or false
4 a trick
5 to make or produce
The Ocean
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
HE Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.
Calmly the wearied seamen rest
Beneath their own blue sea.
The ocean solitudes are blest,
For there is purity.
The earth has guilt, the earth has care,
Unquiet are its graves;
But peaceful sleep is ever there,
Beneath the dark blue waves.
“We grow accustomed to the dark”
by Emily Dickinson
We grow accustomed to the Dark --
When light is put away --
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Goodbye --
A Moment -- We uncertain step
For newness of the night --
Then -- fit our Vision to the Dark --
And meet the Road -- erect --
And so of larger -- Darkness --
Those Evenings of the Brain --
When not a Moon disclose a sign --
Or Star -- come out -- within --
The Bravest -- grope a little --
And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead --
But as they learn to see --
Either the Darkness alters --
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight --
And Life steps almost straight.
American Literature
Unit 2: The Individual and Society
Dark Romanticism Study
A Poison Tree
by William Blake
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath1, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe2:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful3 wiles4.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore5 an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
1 anger
2 an enemy
3 misleading or false
4 a trick
5 to make or produce
The Ocean
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
HE Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.
Calmly the wearied seamen rest
Beneath their own blue sea.
The ocean solitudes are blest,
For there is purity.
The earth has guilt, the earth has care,
Unquiet are its graves;
But peaceful sleep is ever there,
Beneath the dark blue waves.
American Literature
Dark Romantic Poetry
Group A Guiding Questions
Directions
Follow the questions and guidelines below to guide you through your poetry study today. You will write a multi-paragraph analysis tomorrow based on your study today.
“The Poison Tree”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- What are some deeper elements of the plot? Look for symbolism and some deeper meanings.
- How does this poem convey ideas of Anti-Transcendentalism? Look back at your notes in addition to considering the following ideas: the use of nature in the story, the outcome of the story, the theme (or message).
“Richard Cory”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- Look deeply at what the public knows of Richard and how that compares to who he is.
- Why does the poem end like it does? Tie this to an Anti-Transcendental belief.
- Based on #3, what is the message (theme) of the poem? (Think Anti-Transcendentalist!)
“A Dream within a Dream”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- Look how Poe uses nature in the poem and analyze its role and how that is Anti-Transcendental.
- What is the theme (message) of the poem? How is this Anti-Transcendental?
FOR ALL POEMS:
- What is similar in ALL poems? This needs to be a literal element that you can tie into Anti-Transcendentalism – ex: the use of nature, similar events between the characters/speakers, similar moods, etc.
This will set you up for tomorrow’s writing assignment!
American Literature
Dark Romantic Poetry
Group B Guiding Questions
Directions
Follow the questions and guidelines below to guide you through your poetry study today. You will write a multi-paragraph analysis tomorrow based on your study today.
“The Poison Tree”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- What are some deeper elements of the plot? Look for symbolism and some deeper meanings.
- How does this poem convey ideas of Anti-Transcendentalism? Look back at your notes in addition to considering the following ideas: the use of nature in the story, the outcome of the story, the theme (or message).
“The Ocean”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- Look at how Hawthorne describes the ocean. In what ways is it negative? Circle/underline key words/phrases/lines that are proof and write on them what mood is set.
- How is this poem Anti-Transcendental? Look at the darkness of the ocean.
“We grow accustomed to the dark”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- Look how Dickinson describes people. Note how she sees them similarly and differently.
- What is the theme (message) of the poem? How is this Anti-Transcendental?
- What are some deeper elements of the poem? Think back to how we looked deeply into certain things (colors, people, nature, etc.) in “Young Goodman Brown.”
FOR ALL POEMS:
- What is similar in ALL poems? This needs to be a literal element that you can tie into Anti-Transcendentalism – ex: the use of nature, similar events between the characters/speakers, similar moods, etc.
This will set you up for tomorrow’s writing assignment!
American Literature
Dark Romantic Poetry
Group C Guiding Questions
Directions
Follow the questions and guidelines below to guide you through your poetry study today. You will write a multi-paragraph analysis tomorrow based on your study today.
“The Poison Tree”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- What are some deeper elements of the plot? Look for symbolism and some deeper meanings.
- How does this poem convey ideas of Anti-Transcendentalism? Look back at your notes in addition to considering the following ideas: the use of nature in the story, the outcome of the story, the theme (or message).
“Richard Cory”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- Look deeply at what the public knows of Richard and how that compares to who he is.
- Why does the poem end like it does? Tie this to an Anti-Transcendental belief.
- Based on #3, what is the message (theme) of the poem?
“The Ocean”
- Determine what the literal plot of the poem is.
- Look at how Hawthorne describes the ocean. In what ways is it negative? Circle/underline key words/phrases/lines that are proof and write on them what mood is set.
- How is this poem Anti-Transcendental? Look at the darkness of the ocean.
FOR ALL POEMS:
- What is similar in ALL poems? This needs to be a literal element that you can tie into Anti-Transcendentalism – ex: the use of nature, similar events between the characters/speakers, similar moods, etc.
This will set you up for tomorrow’s writing assignment!
American Literature
Unit 2: The Individual and Society
Dark Romantic Poetry: Response
Directions
Based on your study of your assigned poems yesterday, choose ONE of the available responses below in which you respond. You need a brief introduction (a few sentences leading into your thesis), two body paragraphs, and a short conclusion.
- How do your chosen poems convey similar themes that relate to Anti-Transcendental beliefs?
- How do your chosen poems use the same elements of Anti-Transcendentalism? (Ex: the same use of nature, the same mood, the same discussion of death or dark subjects).
- How do your chosen poems both use symbolism to convey Anti-Transcendental beliefs?
American Literature
Unit 2: The Individual and Society
Dark Romantic Poetry: Response
Directions
Based on your study of your assigned poems yesterday, choose ONE of the available responses below in which you respond. You need a brief introduction (a few sentences leading into your thesis), two body paragraphs, and a short conclusion.
- How do your chosen poems convey similar themes that relate to Anti-Transcendental beliefs?
- How do your chosen poems use the same elements of Anti-Transcendentalism? (Ex: the same use of nature, the same mood, the same discussion of death or dark subjects).
- How do your chosen poems both use symbolism to convey Anti-Transcendental beliefs?