If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking

By Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

If I can stop one heart from breaking;

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching;

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Onto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

The writer’s outer world. No author writes in a vacuum. The period and society in which the author lives, and the works of other writers, all influence the author. Many of the greatest contributions to literature have resulted from an author’s reaction to social conditions. For example, the writings of Martin Luther and John Calvin influenced and were influenced by the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s. Percy Bysshe Shelley would probably have rebelled against any society he lived in. But the economic, political, and social situation in England during the early 1800’s provided material tor Shel­ley’s rebellious nature.

The writer’s inner world. The background, interests, and physical assets and handicaps of authors also affect their writing. Likewise, the personal relationships of writers to their homes, families, friends, and enemies all become the materials of their art. For example, Charles Lamb would probably have written differently if he had not stuttered, if he had not taken care of his sister Mary, and if he had not been a bachelor. The poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Emily Dickinson would have been different if the women could have ex­changed lives.

Generally, the works of a writer have greater unity than do those of a period. For example, both the early and late works of John Donne show the poet's basic personality. This is true even though he was called “Mad Jack” in his youth and “Dr. Donne” as a mature man.

The writer’s attitude. We cannot make a final generalization about the works of any author. Nor can we truthfully say that “Shakespeare is always like this,” or “Ernest Hemingway is always like that.” But we can iden­tify a writer’s attitude toward life. Perhaps the terms most often used in describing a writer’s attitude are ro­mantic and realistic.

Romantic writers admire the unusual, the picturesque, and the quaint in humanity and nature. They revolt against the traditional thought and action, and emphasize the importance of the individual. Realistic writers deal with the commonplace instead of the unusual. They try to record the world as they actu­ally see it, even its most unpleasant aspects. They wish to present ideas as objective documents. Critics often use the terms romanticism and realism for the literary movements that swept Europe during the 1800’s.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 1105