Scott A. Wicker Jr.

Mrs. Pritchard
English II
12/17/2015

The Analysis of a Life Time

A Carol of Harvest by Walt Whitman and, An Autumn Sunset by Edith Warton are a superb
representations of their literary movements. The style of transcendentalism enhances A Carol of
Harvest with its happy upbeat tone, and extremely vivid imagery. While the style of dark romanticism
enhances An Autumn Sunset with phantasmagoric imagery, and emasculate detail to set the
stereotypical dark mood. Both authors use their diction to turn two poems with a similar plot into
completely different poems.
The vivid imagery, general upbeat tone, and the author of the story indicate which literary
movement A Carol of Harvest derives from. Transcendentalism deeply relies on an individual
becoming one with nature to transcend to the next world, and A Carol of Harvest does not upset. The
narrator of A Carol of Harvest is immediately enthralled with nature and uses passionate imagery to
convey his love for nature. This imagery is perfectly exemplified by, For the lands, and for these
passionate days, and for myself, now I awhile return to thee, o soil of autumn fields, reclining on thy
breast, giving myself to thee. (7). The main character is praising the earth, skies, and bounty of the land
hoping that he will be able to morph with the earth and transcend to the next world and discover a union
with the Over-Soul.
Unlike transcendentalism, dark romanticism takes a different approach towards the reader.
Instead of focusing on becoming one with nature to transcend to the next world; Dark romanticism

explores the inter-workings of the human mind with creepy symbols and horrific themes. In "An Autumn
Sunset" the whole mood of the story is altered just by replacing the basic vivid imagery with
phantasmagoric qualities. Phantasmagoric imagery instills a dark, gloomy mood that is usually associated
with dark romantic works. This is exemplified by, "Shall I not wander there, a shadow's shade, A specter
self-destroyed, So purged of all remembrance and sucked back into the primal void." (II). Phantasmagoric
imagery is the zenith of creepiness for any work of dark romanticism. Shadow's shade, specters, and
primal voids are all fictional objects but the author has somehow found a way to incorporate them into the
text.
Even though the poems contain the same type of plot, the diction and imagery ultimately alter the
mood conveyed to the reader. Both authors use intense imagery to stimulate the reader, but how the
information is delivered is where the two stories split apart. The approach taken in "The Carol of Harvest"
was to deliver the reader with deep, upbeat imagery to convey the significance of nature to the author.
Vivid, upbeat imagery gives the reader room to interpret the transcendentalist qualities of her poem. An
example of upbeat imagery is shown by, "A song of the good green grass! A song no more of the city
streets; A song of farms---a song of the soil of fields" Immediately the reader can interpret the
transcendentalist qualities without even having to go far into the poem. The first few sentences of the
poem are littered with nature references and upbeat imagery. The approach taken by "An Autumn Sunset"
is to display dark and creepy imagery to enforce a darker mood for the poem. This keeps the reader
focused and attentive when reading the poem because it is a unique method to describe a scene as
common as the sea. This alternative method is demonstrated by, "Lagooned in gold, Seem not those jetty
promontories rather the outposts of some ancient land forlorn." (II). Edith Warton uses such an interesting
way to describe a headland in the sea and definitely isnt a method used by most authors.
The diction, figurative language, and imagery all dictate what kind of poem an author will
produce. Content between two stories may be similar but the way the author describes a scene will dictate
how the information is portrayed to the reader. Transcendentalism and dark romanticism each were

trending during their respective time periods. Transcendentalism was more popular during the 1830s
through 1860s with dark romanticism making an appearance through 1840s through 1860s each
addressing their respective audiences.