Robert Lowell and Robert Creeley

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Robert Lowell and Robert Creeley are two great American poets and how, although the two men have different styles of poetry, both are just as influential. Lowell's poems tend to be longer and more detailed, while Creeley's poems are shorter and seem to require more analysis. The paper examines how, despite their differences, both poets somehow "use" historical issues in their works and how, whether it is more obvious, such as Lowell's, "For the Union Dead", or a more subtle approach, such as Creeley's, "I Know a Man", both poets incorporate a historical issues into these two poems.

From the Paper:

"During the 1960s, Americans started focusing on American history. Robert Lowell's poem, "For the Union Dead", which was written in 1964, is no different. In "For the Union Dead", Lowell compares the 1960s look of Boston with the older images of Boston; he is trying to show the relationship between the past and present through these descriptions. It almost reads as if he is walking through Boston and writing what he sees, then compares the image with what is used to look like. He begins the first stanza with a description of how the South Boston Aquarium looks now, with "Its broken windows boarded/The bronze weathervane cod has lost half its scales" (Lowell 2-3). The issue here is Lowell's hometown is vanishing; aspects that he remembers as being beautiful are now falling apart. Lowell is sad to see his home like this, as he remembers it as a fun place to visit as a child. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Creeley, Robert. "I Know A Man." The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Eds. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003.
• Lowell, Robert. "For the Union Dead." The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. Eds. Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003.
• Nelson, Cary. "Robert Lowell." Modern American Poetry. 1 January 2000. 12 October 2006. < http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/index.htm>
• Nelson, Cary. "Robert Creeley." Modern American Poetry. 1 January 2000. 12 October 2006. < http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/index.htm>

More papers on Robert Lowell and Robert Creeley:

• Poem Review # 144919 : "Robert Lowell's "The Skunk Hour"
• Book Review # 93447 : "Robert Frost and "The Road not Taken"
• Essay # 36540 : "Robert Frost and Nature"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: