paper
Josephine Smithe
HIS 101
December 23, 2014
Primary and Secondary Source Comparison
The primary source selected for this comparison was Lyrical Ballads by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. This source was first published in 1798 and then republished in 1802 with more content, though the one discussed here is the original publication. The “Advertisement” at the beginning of the book indicates that Coleridge was attempting to spread the idea that poetry was much more than rhyming ridiculous, bawdy phrases spread for the enjoyment of the masses and instead that poetry should appeal to those with more refined senses. This indicates that his audience is really the middle and upper classes – those with more time on their hands for contemplation of language and metaphor. The purpose of writing and publishing these poems is also described in the “Advertisement” as an experiment; “They were written chiefly with a view to ascertain how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society is adapted to the purposes of poetic pleasure” (Coleridge, 1798, p. i). The authors’ biases are apparent as well. Previous attempts at poetry, popular during the period, are dismissed as gaudy and inane. Much more than an experiment, it seems Coleridge is trying to redefine poetry itself. The impact of the primary source on history was immense. This was the height of the Romantic era. Lyrical Ballads was a collaboration between William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge which stands as a literary masterpiece of Romanticism.
The primary source is identified and the questions listed in item 4 of the instructions are thoroughly answered in regard to the source.
One secondary source article selected for comparison on a similar topic. (See 2 on instructions)
The secondary source selected was an article found at www.poets.org entitled “A Brief Guide to Romanticism.” Poets.org is a website created by the Academy of American Poets. This is a membership based, nonprofit organization founded in 1934 in New York City. The Academy receives funding from entities such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities among others. The audience for this artcle would be students and/or lovers of poetry trying to understand the late 18th century movement. The secondary source is a very brief summary of the Romantic movement meant to make the reading of poetry from the era richer and more engaging. There is a bias simply in the belief that poetry of this era is valuable. The first statement of the article claims that Romanticism was the largest artistic movement of the era, placing poetry in the realm of art (Poets.org, para. 1). The article was published in 2004, making it irrefutably a secondary source. The article claims that the Romantic movement incorporated ideas which were seen on the political landscape, such as freedom and revolution into art. This period also created the modern stereotype of a poet as one who feels things much more in-depth than others. Prior to reading this article, I understood Romanticism on an intellectual level but not an emotional one. I did not understand that political theory and art might be related.
When you read the poetry of Coleridge, beginning as the book begins with “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere,” you quickly realize that the advertisement of the 1798 edition was accurate in that the language was plainer and the subject matter was less grand. In fact, “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere” incorporates these new ideas while harkening back to ballads such as Homer’s Illyiad or Odyssey from Ancient Greece. There is a hint that the world has been turned upside down in these poems, maybe a reference to the almost complete French Revolution that had such an impact on all of Europe. By comparing the primary document – Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads – with the secondary source – “A Brief Guide to Romanticism” – it is clear to see that the rich fullness of history is lost in a summary. To truly understand the perspectives of history it is necessary to read and consider a primary source such as Lyrical Ballads without preconceived notions of greatness or failures.
The secondary source is identified and the questions listed in item 4 of the instructions are thoroughly answered in regard to the source.
A paragraph summarizing what you learned by comparing the primary source with your selected secondary source. This is not just a summary of the sources, but what you learned about different source types.
References Academy of American Poets (2004). A Brief Guide to Romanticism. Retrieved December 29, 2014, from poets.org: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-romanticism Coleridge, S. T. and Wordsworth, W. (1798). Lyrical Ballads. Retrieved December 27, 2014, from Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia: http://web.archive.org/web/20030130214428/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Wor2Lyr.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=front
A list of your primary and secondary sources in one of the approved formats (APA, MLA or Chicago Style for Humanities). In this example, the Microsoft Word reference tool was used to create an APA Reference page.