Bristol High School - Green and White Yearbook (Bristol, RI)

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22 THE GREEN AND WHITE LITERATURE IN “THE ROARING 40’S” That period between 1840 and 1850, more gen-eraly known as The Fabulous, or the Roaring Forties, included what was probably the greatest era in the history ot American literature. Although much sentimental, romantic, adventurous trash of the penny dreadful type was wirtten during this period, it is here that we first hear of many of the men who were later to become leading figures in the history of English, and even of the World’s literature. It is at this time that we find Bryant, Holmes, Lowell. Whittier, Greely, and others contributing to the many periodicals of the day. Longfellow was widely, if not popularly, known for his EvangelineWashington Irving shared his international fame as a writer with Cooper, who was no less known; Herman Melville had written some books about the South Seas, and was a very popular author; Hawthorne had done some writing up to this time, and was writing what was destined to become a masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter; Edgar Allan Poe was writing his incomparably fascinating stories and poems for well-known periodicals of the day, and had practically become a national idol; Emerson, too, had done quite a bit of writing, and was also very popular. Henry Ward Beecher was writing treatises and sermons, while Calhoun, Webster, Clay, James Hent, Joseph Storey and John Marshall were writing volumes of speeches and political writings. Prescott had a popular appeal at this time, and Mr. Parkman’s “The Oregon Trail,” was a classic of the day. The humorists of the Forties” were Cornelius, Mathews, Longstreet, and Hooper. Peter Parlev and Hans Christian Andersen wrote children's books. This period abounds with such paper-backed, dime novels as “The Fatal Feud, or Passion and Piety;” Ellen, or Forgive and Forget;” “For Ivach and For All, or Saetitia and Mary;” “The Great Secret, or Flow to be Happy;” “Allen Lucas, or the Self Made Man,’’ etc. The style of these melodramtical novels is thoroughly stiff and artificial, and embodies none of the grace and freedom of expression that characterizes the literature before and since this period. It was an established rule that every novel should be composed of ten chapters, so many writers of the “Forties meandered through nine chapters of rambling, disjointed events, and then crammed an abrupt, untimely ending into the tenth chapter. Two novels, in particular, written during this period merit special recognition. Both these novels, “The Wide, Wide World, and “Queechy were written by the same woman, Susan Warner, whose pen name was Elizabeth Wetherell; and although these books are artificial and in no way true to life, they are good examples of the novels of this period. The children in these two novels behave in the regulation style of this period, being verv devout. and acting far beyond their years. Minni-gerode. in his book. The Fabulous Forties, says of these children, One cannot, in all reverence, avoid the suspicion that the children of that day were insufferable little prigs-----” Everyone in this period wrote poetry. New material was being developed to write about, and nearly everyone took advantage of the opportunity. The poets of this period whose names have come down to the present day are Byron, Poe, Joseph Rodman Drake, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Swinburne, Charles Hoffman. A few of the poets who captured the popular fancy during these Fabulous Forties, but were soon forgotten are Amelia Welby, N. P. Willis, Mrs. hrances S. Osgood, G. P. Morris, James G. Percival, William Wetmore Story, ad the greatest poet of the day, the man from whom Poe copied many rhyme schemes, Mr. Olivers. In spite of the artificiality of the novels of the period, Edgar Allan Poe declared N. B. Tucker’s “George Balcombe,” the greatest American novel ever written. There were, at this time many annual periodicals, such as “The Rose of Sharon,” The Token,” “The Gift,” and “The Fountain, to which such men as Whittier, Bayard Taylor, and that greatest of al newspaper men, Horace Greely, contributed articles. Many small books, beautifully bound, were written and published, designed to serve as gifts on various occasions. These books contained many poems appropriately written for the purpose which the hook was to serve. The important magazines published at this time were The Youth’s Companion;” “The Child’s Friend; Merry’s Museum,” all designed as children’s magazines, and such publications as “The Literary Gazette, The Literary World,” “The Knickerbocker Magazine,” “Littell’s Living Age, “The Dial, The North American Review, “Southern Quarterly Review,” “Southern Literary Messenger.” “The Dollar Magazine,” “Peterson’s National Magazine, “The Saturday Evening Post, Graham’s Magazine,” and “Godeys Lady’s Book. In spite of the great number of American publications, many English magazines were sent into this country. The English magazines were typically masculine, while those of America strove particularly to please the ladies. All the great writers of the day contributed to these magazines, and many of them were true literary masterpieces. It was in this period of “The Roaring” Forties that the newspaers wer established as an important element in the every-day life of the American citizen. As the West began to become more thickly settled, sectionalism sprang up and gave growth to hundreds of politically minded newspaers throughout the country. Important in the field of newspaper work was a man who. as I have mentioned before, was one of the greatest editors of all time, Horace Greely. In short, the literature of the forties, however varied in content and merit, was actually “the dawn of a new era in the literature of America and of the world. GEORGE H. WILSON, 34.

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