Identity and Society in American Poetry: The Romantic Tradition B ...

To emphasize the continuity between twentieth-century poets—who feel this conflict most acutely—and poets of earlier epochs, I provide a fair amount of relevant literary background. My approach is interdisciplinary, focusing on the philosophical underpinnings of literary practice while exploring the psychology of the American avant-garde.

“Society,” as I shall discuss it, is a sort of literary society—not the kind found in salons or universities, but something more intimate: the communicative connection between writer and reader. However, this intangible meeting is a microcosm of broader social structures and relations. “Identity” in this work does not refer to a culturally defined label, but rather to the poet’s sense of self, especially as expressed in the literary work—or excised therefrom. When using the word “Liberalism,” I refer to the classic rather than the contemporary American or European sense of the word. I do not mean a generalized political persuasion, but a systematic social philosophy, as typified in the writings of John Locke.