Richard Realf stands as one of the most enigmatic and poignant figures in nineteenth-century American poetry—a man whose extraordinary talents were matched only by the turbulence of his existence. Born on June 14, 1832, in the quiet village of Framfield in East Sussex, England, and dying by his own hand on October 28, 1878, in Oakland, California, Realf's forty-six years traced an arc of brilliance and despair, ideal…
“I have erred greatly in my life, and suffered greatly, but I have always been a servant and never a hireling of the truth.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Death & Mortality, Nature Poets, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Wonder, Spirituality, Longing
John Greenleaf Whittier was born on 17 December 1807 on his family’s farm in the East Parish of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and died on 7 September 1892 in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. During his long life, the United States changed from a young republic into an industrial and continental power scarred by civil war, and Whittier became one of the most widely read literary witnesses to that transformation. He was a poe…
“Better heresy of doctrine than heresy of heart.”
Neighbourhood:
American Poets, Devotional Poets, Folk & Ballad Poets, Hymn Writers, Political Poets, Social Justice Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Tenderness
