Longfellow's "Evangeline" and Iconic Realism ("Evangeline" de Longfellow et realism emblématique) (Click onto this title to hear the song, Evangeline, sung by Annie Blanchard en français)

Photo from Google Images

My absolute favorite American narrative poem is Evangeline, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He beautifully illustrates the theory of iconic realism, for he writes of an iconic love between two Acadian villagers, separated by imperialistic orders of the British military.

As the two lovers set off on their lifelong quest, each alone, yet jointly searching through the American wilderness with hope of an eventual reunion, the audience becomes aware of diminishing cultures across this vast continent as one community gains control over another with little regard for cultural tolerance. In the final stanza of this epic poem, Longfellow illustrates that a culture, like love, may go through changes, but with God's gift of human perseverance and Divine purpose, both a culture and love will prevail:

Still stands the forest primeval; but far away from its shadow, 

Side by side, in their nameless graves, the lovers are sleeping. 

Under the humble walls of the little Catholic churchyard, 

In the heart of the city, they lie, unknown and unnoticed; 

Daily the tides of life go ebbing and flowing beside them, 

Thousands of throbbing hearts, where theirs are at rest and forever, 

Thousands of aching brains, where theirs no longer are busy, 

Thousands of toiling hands, where theirs have ceased from their labors, 

Thousands of weary feet, where theirs have completed their journey! 

Still stands the forest primeval; but under the shade of its branches 

Dwells another race, with other customs and language. 

Only along the shore of the mournful and misty Atlantic 

Linger a few Acadian peasants, whose fathers from exile 

Wandered back to their native land to die in its bosom; 

In the fisherman's cot the wheel and the loom are still busy; 

Maidens still wear their Norman caps and their kirtles of homespun, 

And by the evening fire repeat Evangeline's story, 

While from its rocky caverns the deep-voiced, neighboring ocean 

Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.

(Longfellow, Evangeline, Part II, Canto V)

Iconic Realism and Cultural Hybridism: Sydney Owenson, Imre Madach, and Arthur Griffith:

  


Abstract from paper presented at the New England Conference for Irish Studies Regional Meeting, 

held at the University of Massachusetts, 2013: 

Sydney Owenson's and Imre Madach’s use of iconic realism in their writings explore cultural hybridism in nineteenth century Ireland and Hungary. In her 1840 book, Woman and Her Master, Sydney Owenson makes the following observation: 

Society has become complicated more rapidly than philosophy and legislation can follow; the actions of man upon man, and those of the species upon nature, have multiplied faster than observation can co-ordinate, or reason control; until a positive advance has assumed the appearance of a relative retrogradation. (WHM, p. 15)

Through her national tales, Owenson presents characters entwined with Irish political history, that illustrate strength in cultural identity. 

Likewise, Imre Madach, the nineteenth century Hungarian poet-playwright, questions societal expectations in his dramatic representation, The Tragedy of Man. Madach moves his audience through a journey of social outcry against parochialism in his depictions of Adam, Eve and Lucifer, entangled in episodic adventures that transcend historical boundaries through radical, textual dissent against the provincial establishment.  Madach deliberately places Adam and Eve in opposition to Lucifer to illustrate that by confronting distraction and authority, one engages in a journey of self worth by gaining key elements of self-knowledge.

In his 1918 book, The Resurrection of Hungary, Arthur Griffith writes, “Ireland’s heroic and long-enduring resistances to the destruction of her independent nationality were themes the writers of Young Hungary dwelt upon to enkindle and make resolute the Magyar people” (xxiv). Griffith’s association of Ireland and Hungary illustrates that writers, such as Madach and Owenson, living within the parochial constraints of both of these countries, use the power of the dissonant pen to motivate their readers to understand cultural hybridism and consider positive cultural transformation.

The Tiny Hand of Samuel Armas (In honor of Respect for Life )

Photo from Google Images

In 1999, Michael Clancy captured on film the little hand of Samuel Armas, held here by Vanderbilt University Hospital surgeon, Dr. Joseph Bruner. The iconic element here is the hand of the human fetus, for it represents life, innocence, complete vulnerability.

This is an excellent example of iconic realism in photography, for one usually would not think that the connection between a 21 week old human in the womb and a surgeon could physically take place in this manner. 

One cultural dilemma that this photograph reveals is that even though there exist limitations and possibilities of medical science,  the beauty in the touch of a human hand is a divine statement that life is precious and can be meaningful from the womb... before birth.

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee..." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Sociolinguistic Style of Sydney Owenson's Writing and Iconic Realism

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

From both my second book and an ACIS Mid-Atlantic/New England Regional Conference presentation:

Iconic realism is the placement of a realistic and iconic figure juxtaposed to another realistic iconic example to enlighten an audience of the need for cultural transformation. Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) uses her personal experience and historical research to demonstrate revolutionary rhetoric through application of character role reversals, class discrepancies, and linguistic variations, all of which illustrate the need for societal transformation within various regions of nineteenth-century Ireland. 

For example, in the preface of her essay entitled, Absenteeism, she highlights the need for both the English and the Irish to be mindful of their patriotic responsibilities: 

“Notwithstanding the intense interest which is felt throughout all England concerning Ireland and Irish affairs, notwithstanding the frequent debates in parliament, and more frequent pamphlets and volumes published on points of Irish politics and economy, the prevailing ignorance on these subjects still operates powerfully in maintaining prejudices the most unfounded and the most fatal, and in retarding those measures of wisdom and of justice without which Ireland can never be happy; or the British Empire secure.” (Absenteeism pp. ix, x)

In this statement, Owenson demonstrates the commonality between the authority, England, and the respective community of Ireland, as she begins with the phrase, ‘notwithstanding the intense interest which is felt…’ She engages in the assertive use of negative phraseology linked with a deferential passive voice to unite the divergent intentions of England and Ireland. 

Her decision to carefully select the grammatical configuration of passive voice hints at her concern over absenteeism and indicates that she is stepping back to show respect for authority while she remains specific in her focus on the negative effect that this course of action has on the Irish citizenry.  She concludes this paragraph with a series of negative phrases that focus on the dire consequences if both Ireland and England do not consider the elimination of cultural bias. 

Through her sociolinguistic style of including Irish language and political tones with her enlightening observations of the English treatment of the Irish, she creates a sense of balance in a revolutionary manner that clashes with various societal levels, using iconic realism to juxtapose history with societal expression to bring about an awareness of the need for societal cohesion. 

Inauguration Poetry: Revolution

My poem remembers the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, and after 8 years of them trying to rip apart the country that voted them in, the election of President Donald John Trump:

Revolution, 2009, 2013, 2021

Historical moments,

meiosis of human spirit,

evolve into prospects,

for rebellion to split open 

the festering wound of ignorance,

bleed with hastening progress 

in anticipation

of a conscious 'woke-ness.'

"I plan to make fundamental changes."

Revolution, 2017, 2025

Historical moments,

meiosis of human spirit,

evolve into prospects

for rebellion to split open 

the festering wound of ignorance,

and bleed with confidence and truth

in anticipation 

of a conscious awakening:

"Make America Great Again!"

© Jeanne I. Lakatos