Reflection over Fireside

Fireside writing was generated because it was as simple as the name itself. It was poetry that was thought to be read to families while sitting around the fire. ("Fireside Poets") This is probably why I noticed that the story "Old Iron side" was very descriptive with and uplifting ending to it. "And give her to the god of storms,; the lighting and the gale!" ("Fireside Poets") This is the very ending of the poem and shows the uplifting spirits of the bad women being given away. This also begins to symbolize the huge difference from the Puritan era from the Fireside poets. One HUGE difference is the use of God and religion within the writings themselves. The writing The Crucible by Arthur Miller displays puritan writing at it's best. One quote "Let you not mistake your duty as I mistook my own. I came into this village like a bridegroom to his beloved, bearing gifts of high religion; the very crowns of holy law I brought, and what I touched with my bright confidence, it died; and where I turned the eye of my great faith, blood flowed up.(Miller, Aurthur) This describes how it is VERY religious based and no matter what the topic surrounds religion. But when you look at "Old Iron Side" there isn't so much religious aspect as there is a nature and emotional aspect. This is displayed in "The meteor of the ocean air,; Shall sweep the clouds no more" ("Fireside Poets"). When this was written much later than the Crucible the idea of religion being the main concept had faded already because of the Rationalism era. A famous author from this time was the great Thomas Paine, author of The Crisis. From this story he showed the transition from the very religious Puritan era to the very logical Rationalism era. How does this compare to the "Fireside Poets"? The answer is very simple, the ideas of logic are basically thrown out the door. The ideas of imagination and expression flood through much more because there are no logical rules to be followed or analyzed. "And many an eye had danced to see, the banner int he sky" ("Fireside Poets") The ideas of imagination and vision between real and fake is really a true factor when reading this. You don't have to think logically because there is very little logic in it at all. Unlike The Crisis where everything is written blatantly and logically to what makes scientific sense. For example "We did not make proper use of last winter; neither could we, while we are in a dependent state." (Paine 135. While unlike in the "Old Iron Side" quote, there is no thinking that is needed to be done. The statement is basically exactly what it is. So all in all the timeline of the literature is Puritan, Rationalism, and then the "Fireside Poets". This also shows the progression first away from completely religious, then away from completely logically, and then onto the imaginative and nature driven writing. This is personally my favorite and would recommend everyone to read this era of poetry.

Paine, Thomas. The Crisis No. 1. Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., and Douglas Fisher. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible. New York: Penguin Group, 1976. 132 Print.

"Fireside Poets" Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 210-211. Print.