Response To Ralph Emerson

Usually the first thoughts that come to your mind when you hear the word “romantic”, in this case its Romanticism. You automatically assume that everything is going to “lovey dovey” and “charming”. When in actuality romanticism is a style of art, literature, that is based off feelings, heroism and imagination. This poem exemplifies American Romanticism to me it captures imagery, writing about the past, writing from a narrative perspective which puts it right in that category.

When I read and analyzed the poem the first thing that comes to my mind is bravery. America represents freedom and patriotism that fights for our country, if you look at the first sentence of the poem “By the rude bridge that arched the flood”, Emerson was referring to the rude bridge seem some sort of hate because it was stopping them to be free. Also, the flood of freedom that swept over the nation when the troops be the British. By Emerson saying, “Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, here at once the embattled farmers stood”. That line creates so much imagery because you can imagine them waving the flag in their face when it was illegal to do so as they prepared for battle. The flag waving proudly in the April breeze it typically fresh hair and he’s also reminding us when it took place. Even though I wasn’t alive at this time but I’ve

So how did he know about the battle if he wasn’t alive at that time? This poem is so different from Neo-Classicalism poetry because those poems are from intellect and reasoning, Romanticism is more from the heart and based from emotions. So, he can’t really know if what he wrote about were true so he must’ve heard the story from somewhere else and used his imagination to write the poem since it came out 62 years after the war happened. Showing interest in the past and writing about it is an element of Romanticism which was captured