Gardens and grasses: The question of literature and democracy for New York City's public intellectuals in the era of Greeley and Whitman.
Item
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Title
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Gardens and grasses: The question of literature and democracy for New York City's public intellectuals in the era of Greeley and Whitman.
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Identifier
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AAI3310652
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identifier
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3310652
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Creator
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Egan, Sean.
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Contributor
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Adviser: David S. Reynolds
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, American | History, United States
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Abstract
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The daily newspapers that flourished in New York City in the early decades of the nineteenth century provide a rich picture of the political and cultural landscape of the time. They feature vivid depictions of life in the city, wild and rancorous commentary on the political battles of the day, and sometimes equally rancorous commentary on the papers' battles with each other for circulation and respect. The papers also featured literary criticism, which drew on the current political ideas and addressed the significance of a mass audience for literature.;The literary critics in these papers held different views on democracy, but they all saw America part of a world-wide democratic movement that included the many nationalists and revolutionaries in Europe and South America. The influence of the ideas associated with these movements, nationalism and Romanticism, had a defining role in the work of these critics. The other key factor is the radical egalitarianism of the Jacksonian period (and the reactions to it).;A selection of critics provide an overview of the critical positions found in the penny press. The radical Jacksonian position is represented by William Leggett an influential editor and political commentator who began his career as a poet and short story writer. Since Jacksonian ideas about the independence and rights of the working class were based on the value of the people's labor, the critical problem for Leggett and those who follow him is how to evaluate the status of writing itself as labor. A very different political view is represented by Horace Greeley, the famous reformer and editor of the New York Tribune, who opposed the populism of the Jacksonian democrats as well as their economic theories. Another critic, Margaret Fuller, wrote for Greeley's paper but provided an independent and sophisticated position on literature because of her background in European critical thought and Transcendentalism. Lastly, Walt Whitman's criticism as a journalist in the years before the first edition of Leaves of Grass represents his attempts to resolve the problems faced by Jacksonians and the challenge of European ideas from romanticism.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
