This essay is going to discuss two poems: "Bury Me in a Free Land" by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, published in 1858 and "On Liberty and Slavery" by George Moses Horton, published in 1829.
Both poems portray the topic of slavery and the associated desire of liberty. However, the two poems differ regarding their conception of liberty; Harper's conception is a general national one whereas Horton's is influenced by his own experiences as a slave.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Analysis of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s "Bury Me in a Free Land"
3. Analysis of George Moses Horton’s "On Liberty and Slavery"
4. Comparative Discussion
5. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This essay aims to provide a comparative literary analysis of two significant anti-slavery poems: "Bury Me in a Free Land" by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and "On Liberty and Slavery" by George Moses Horton. The research question explores how both poets utilize distinct linguistic structures, metaphors, and personal experiences to articulate the fundamental human desire for liberty and their opposition to the institution of slavery.
- Comparison of poetic techniques, including rhyme schemes and meter.
- Analysis of emotive language and metaphorical representation of slavery.
- Examination of the personification of liberty and the expression of identity.
- Evaluation of how individual experience vs. national perspective shapes the conception of freedom.
Excerpt from the Book
Furthermore, it is striking that Harper choses animalistic expressions to describe human torture: “I’d shudder and start if I heard the bay / Of bloodhounds seizing their human prey” (Harper 17-18). This metaphor terribly describes the torture of slaves. The “bloodhounds” refer to the masters and “prey”, the slaves, also refer to the world of animals. This kind of a metaphor gives Harper the room to transfer the image of slavery as dehumanization; humans who are treated as animals.
Harper emphasizes the need of stopping slavery. She writes: “My eye would flash with a mournful flame / My death-paled cheek grow red with shame” (Harper 23-24). Here, the poem refers to emotions that would be felt if the speaker who wants to find peace has to experience slavery. The description of a dead body’s emotions has the effect of importance and seriousness concerning the topic of slavery. The measure of the speaker’s emotional movement towards this torture is intense and not even death can stop sympathy in this case.
Besides, the used lexemes and the syntactic structure of the stanzas are very elaborated. The second and third, both start with “I could not rest if” (Harper 5) and are followed by the fourth stanza that starts with “I could not sleep if” (Harper 13). ‘Rest’ and ‘sleep’ are semantically related and fit to the image of the dead body and its desire of finding peace. Those coherences create a common thread that is also an advantage regarding the poem’s readability.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the two poems by Harper and Horton, establishing the foundational differences between a national conception of liberty and one shaped by personal experience as a slave.
2. Analysis of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s "Bury Me in a Free Land": This section examines Harper’s protest through her use of rhyme, emotive metaphors, and the specific depiction of the psychological and physical degradation of black women.
3. Analysis of George Moses Horton’s "On Liberty and Slavery": This chapter explores Horton’s use of iambic meter, the personification of liberty, and his paradox as an enslaved writer representing the conscience of a nation.
4. Comparative Discussion: This section synthesizes the analysis, highlighting similarities in the thematic focus on freedom and differences in phrasing, addressees, and the specificity of location.
5. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes how both poets, despite their different backgrounds, illustrate that the desire for liberty is a universal human experience that transcends the divide between the enslaved and the free.
Keywords
Slavery, Liberty, Poetry, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, George Moses Horton, Protest, Metaphor, Human Rights, Freedom, Dehumanization, Identity, Literary Analysis, 19th Century, Abolitionist Literature, Emotional expression
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
The work provides a comparative analysis of two anti-slavery poems, examining how each author uses linguistic and stylistic devices to express the human desire for freedom.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The central themes include the protest against slavery, the psychological impact of dehumanization, the personification of liberty, and the quest for identity within an oppressive system.
What is the primary objective of the essay?
The objective is to highlight how Harper's and Horton's differing personal backgrounds influence their unique literary approaches to the shared subject of liberty.
Which methodology is employed in the analysis?
The author uses qualitative literary analysis, focusing on meter, rhyme scheme, metaphors, syntactic structures, and the rhetorical use of punctuation to interpret the poems.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body contains detailed, stanza-by-stanza stylistic analyses of both poems and a final comparative section that contrasts the authors' strategies for conveying their messages.
Which keywords define this analysis?
Key terms include slavery, liberty, protest, dehumanization, and comparative literary analysis.
How does Harper represent the concept of slavery?
Harper primarily uses animalistic metaphors and imagery related to the suffering of mothers and children to illustrate the moral and human degradation inherent in slavery.
In what way does Horton's approach to liberty differ from Harper's?
Horton addresses "Liberty" directly through personification and reflects his personal experiences as an enslaved man, whereas Harper adopts a more general, national perspective in her protest.
What role do the 'doves' play in Harper's poem?
The doves serve as metaphors for innocence and freedom, used by Harper to indirectly describe the violent tearing of children from their mothers.
Why does Horton capitalize the word 'Liberty' throughout his poem?
Capitalizing 'Liberty' serves to personify the concept, emphasizing his deep, holy veneration for it and his desperate desire to be heard by the entity he craves.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2018, The Conception of Liberty in "Bury Me in a Free Land" by Frances Harper and "On Liberty and Slavery" by George Horton, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/492609
