Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1.0, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Department of English and Linguistics), course: The Rhyme and Reason of American Poetry, language: English, abstract: Philip Freneau was one of the most discussed poets of the late eighteenth century. On one hand he was celebrated as the "e;Poet of the American Revolution"e; (Eberwein 191) or the "e;Father of American Poetry"e; (Stauffer 52), a journalist of influence, a patriot and skilful writer, on the other hand he was forgotten for a long time. How did Philip Freneau see himself? What were his targets and how did he try to reach them? This paper examines Freneau s look on his role as an author on his poetry and plans. What kind of influences affected or promoted his career? Regarding his own poems To an Author , The City Poet and To a New England Poet his description of an author s life and therefore his life will become apparent. Furthermore, a closer look on his contemporaries, the Connecticut Wits, especially Dwight, Barlow and Bryant will display how independent and original Freneau s writing was, and what kind of relationships he had towards these American authors. At the same time his relationship towards British poets is interesting: He thought he rejected most of their writing; but was he really not influenced by them at all? Could it be that he sometimes even copied parts of their work? After having a short look on other intertextual influences like Greek mythology, verses from the Bible and Classic forms, this paper will look back on his life in a retrospective way and analyse his attitude towards himself. Did Freneau manage to reach his goals or did he lose sight of them?
