Voices and Viewpoints Poems by Stephen Crane k12 Wiva American Literature

Stephen Crane was one of the most prominent literary naturalists of the late 1800s. In this lesson, you will learn about naturalism and examine the language and themes of several poems written by Stephen Crane.

Before you begin reading the poetry of Stephen Crane, learn about the life and times of the poet.

Use the Student Guide to take notes and answer questions as you work through the lesson.

Stephen Crane’s Life:
Born in New Jersey in 1871, Stephen Crane showed an early interest in literature, writing his first stories by the time he was 10 years old. By age 16, Crane was earning money writing for the New York Tribune.

Crane moved to an area in New York City known for its poverty. Crane was fascinated by the struggles of the poor, and his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, reflected his interest. Published in 1893, Crane’s novel gained recognition for its candid portrait of poverty.

Crane’s best-known work is The Red Badge of Courage, a novel about the Civil War. His realistic portrayal of war gained him respect as a writer about war. As a journalist, Crane covered the Greco-Turkish War and the Cuban War of Independence.

When Crane returned to Cuba to cover the Spanish-American War, he fell sick. He died of tuberculosis in Germany at the age of 28.

Naturalism:
Stephen Crane was a leader in the literary naturalism movement.

Literary naturalism asserts that the primary influences on a character’s behaviors and outlooks are heredity and environment.

Naturalist writers write realistic works that show how characters are shaped by the forces around them. The works tend to focus on the bleak, dark side of life.

Crane reflected the naturalist perspective as he wrote about both poverty and war.

Read the poetry of Stephen Crane on pages 65-69 of Explorations: An Anthology of American Literature, Volume C.

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b.) positive

The poet uses language that shows the sea as something appealing – a blue meadow alive with singing.

c.) indifferent

The universe feels no “sense of obligation” to the man.

a.) human suffering

When the speaker talks about the “sand, the heat, the vacant horizon,” he is referring to life events that leave a person feeling burned.

Why might two people view the same thing in vastly different ways? Stephen Crane addresses this question in his poem “To the Maiden.” Examine the language and naturalistic themes of the work by completing this activity.

Experience and Environment:
“To the Maiden” is divided into two stanzas that describe the sea from two very different perspectives. In the first stanza is a maiden’s description of the sea. A shipwrecked sailor describes the sea in the second stanza.

The maiden and the sailor have differing views of the sea because their experience of the sea differs. The belief that one’s opinions are shaped by forces beyond one’s control, including one’s past experience, is at the core of literary naturalism.

The Maiden’s View of the Sea:
Crane opens the poem with the maiden’s view of the sea.

At just four lines, this first section is the shorter of the poem’s two stanzas.

Yet Crane packs these lines with meaning by using evocative language and vivid imagery.

“The sea was blue meadow,
Alive with little froth-people
Singing.”

The maiden’s view of the sea is positive, and the language in this stanza contains pleasant imagery. The word “meadow” suggests tranquility, while the description of small, singing “froth-people” makes the sea seem almost cute and certainly harmless.

The Sailor’s View of the Sea:
The sailor’s view of the sea is expressed in the poem’s second stanza. Two lines longer than the first stanza, its language and imagery, though also vivid and evocative, paint a very different picture of the sea.

To the sailor, the sea is ugly and threatening.

Instead of a “blue meadow,” the sea looks like “dead grey walls.” Instead of something composed of “little froth-people” who sing, the sea is an instrument of nature’s “grim hatred”—capable of wrecking a ship and drowning the sailors.

A naturalist would more likely share the sailor’s view that nature is a force that overwhelms the individual and his will.

Who Is Right?:
Within the lines of “To the Maiden,” Stephen Crane does not suggest that one view of the sea is correct and the other incorrect; he simply describes two views. Readers understand that the sea may indeed be beautiful to a maiden who observes it from the safety of the shore. At the same time, the sea may indeed be a threatening and dangerous entity to a shipwrecked sailor.

So the question that a reader must ask is not “Which view of the sea is correct?” Rather, he or she needs to ask, “Which view does my experience with the sea lead me to consider accurate?”

Now turn your attention to other poems by Stephen Crane. In this activity, analyze the language and naturalist themes of “A Man Said to the Universe,” “I Walked in a Desert,” and “I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon.”

The Universe and a Desert:
Stephen Crane’s “A Man Said to the Universe” and “I Walked in a Desert” are poems with brief, single stanzas. They contain dialogue with unlikely speakers.

“A Man Said to the Universe” contains dialogue between a nameless man and the universe.

“I Walked in the Desert” contains dialogue between an unnamed speaker and an unknown and unseen figure or presence.

“A Man Said to the Universe”:
Stephen Crane packs a lot into this poem’s five short lines.

The work presents the view that an individual does not have much significance in the wide expanse of the universe.

“I Walked in a Desert”:
“I Walked in a Desert” is another short Crane poem in which a person shouts out something when he is alone. Here, however, instead of the universe replying to the speaker, only an unidentified voice replies.

I walked in a desert.
And I cried:
“Ah, God, take me from this place!”
A voice said: “It is no desert.”
I cried, “Well, but—
The sand, the heat, the vacant horizon.”
A voice said, “It is no desert.”

Though the speaker cries out to God, there is no suggestion that the reply comes from God. Whoever-or whatever-does speak offers the speaker no help. The voice merely repeats, “It is no desert.”

What does the poem suggest about the relationship between the natural environment and humanity’s needs?

A Symbolic Interpretation:
The exact meanings of “A Man Said to the Universe” and “I Walked in a Desert” are open to interpretation. However, the universe and a desert share noteworthy traits:

Both are vast and mostly empty.
Both are unsympathetic places where life is rare and survival is difficult.
Readers may therefore view existence in the universe or in a desert as symbolic of human experience in an indifferent, natural world.

In this activity, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the life, career, and influence of Stephen Crane.

http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/crane/index.html

This website, maintained by the University of Washington, contains additional information about the life, career, and lasting influence of Stephen Crane. Here, you can also see images of Crane, read a number of the author’s works, examine criticism of Crane’s writing,and follow helpful links.