For Emerson, poets fill perhaps the most valuable and necessary role of society. He is the ideal man, who can reproduce in poetry the experiences of life, and speak about the soul of man. The man who "sees and handles that which others dream of" (The Poet). And liberates us by articulating the thoughts and truths that we often let slip away.
While Poe is not quite as direct as Emerson, he does present a view of the poet in "The Purloined Letter". The first hint is G--'s view of poets when speaking of D-- "But then he's a poet, which I take to be only one removed from a fool". Ironically, it is precisely the fact that D-- is a poet that allows him to successfully hide the purloined letter, as Dupin explains that D--, being a poet, has a greater intellect than G--.
Thus for Poe as well as Emerson, the poet is set above others and apart from non-poets in that he/she can interpret hidden truths and invent unique ways to express them.
It is interesting to see the two agree when they seem to have so much they disagree on. Both of them also tried their hand at poetry and ironically aren't remembered for that skill set. (I would consider Poe's "The Raven" to be an anomaly; while Poe wrote a famous poem, he as a writer is famous for his horror stories.)
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much of the popular views at the time affected both of them. It was still very much an era that poetry was a sign of Literature. Great Literature for them was probably viewed as always intentional and must be a sign of a genius. Poe goes out of his way to try and prove that he fits the category in "The Philosophy of Composition." Even today, we look at good poetry as a sign of a great mind. (Maybe it's a sign that a poet is the greatest of mind, no matter the era?)