Two of Herman Melville's pieces were "The Martyr", a poem, and "The Lightning-Rod Man", a short story.
"The Martyr" is in the genre of historic poetry and was published on April 15, 1865, which happens to be the year Lincoln was president. Another thing I noticed that helped me put this poem into terms I could understand was when I realized Melville is also talking about the killing of God. This may not even be close to correct, but maybe Melville is connecting the assassination of Lincoln and the killing of Christ. The poem starts off by stating a killing on Good Friday, which signifies the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Both were killed for horrible, unjust reasons and they both left a huge mark on society.
The short story, "The Lightning-Rod Man", is about the narrator having a quarrel with the lightning rod salesman who wants to sell his device to the narrator. The unknown narrator accuses the salesman of targeting those who fear godly punishment and then the salesman attacks the narrator with one of his rods. Following this, the narrator grows angry and breaks the rod and tosses the rod and the salesman out of his house. I gathered my thoughts and what I read on the Internet and came up with the conclusion that the narrator represents a strong willed man who does not fear the wrath of God and knows that lightning is not something from the heavens to enforce fear in men. The rod breaking symbolizes that the narrator is resisting traditionalism by letting the salesman know that he is going against God if he has to. This story is making fun of the people during the Romantic era who believe in an angry God.
Both stories have some connection to God. "The Martyr" is about the unfair doings to Jesus Christ and "The Lightning-Rod Man" is about the idea that many people believed in angry God. The people felt that there was an angry God that they must follow or else they would be sent to hell.
Writers like Melville would write about religion and God because during the Romantic era they felt free to draw on Biblical themes like their predecessors had written about classical mythology.
Reading these poems about Jesus Christ and God brought back memories from when I made my 1st Communion at my church. The reason for that is becasue in those church classes I took, we would discuss the killing of Christ. Those days years ago is where I gained all of my knowledge about the killing of Christ and God.
1 comment:
In Herman Meville's "The Martyr" he describes a hero that was killed, and the people's revolt. This poem can be applied to many things, including anyone considered to be a martyr. Specifically, judging from the time this poem was written and Melville's admiration of President Lincoln, it could very easily have been written about him. The poem gives a sense that evil conquers. Melville says, "They have killed him, the Forgiver-- The Avenger takes his place." Melville uses literary devices such as repetition to enhance and drill in the overall theme of the piece.
Also, Melville's "The Lighting-Rod Man" is a very symbolic poem. I found it very difficult to understand, but from what i gathered from other sources online, the poem's overall theme is about resisting traditionalism.
Melville seems to have been a religious person judging from the subjects and possible interpretations of his poems.
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