American Poetry Before the Civil War
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, widely regarded as the founding mother and father of modern American poerty—or even American poetry in general, were first published in 1850 and 1855, respectively, and remained largely unknown for years thenceforth. In Whitman's case, obscurity persisted in spite of his valiant attempts at self-promotion, whereas Dickinson had no apparent interest in fame.
Perhaps the best known American poet of that time—in retrospect—was Edgar Allen Poe, who published poetry from 1827 till his premature death in 1849. Poe was derided for the lyrical nature of his verse by Ralph Waldo Emerson and James Russell Lowell:
"There comes Poe, with his raven, like Barnaby Rudge,
Three fifths of him genius and two fifths sheer fudge,"
— Lowell, A Fable for Critics
... but time has proved Poe's ally. Apparently, three fifths genius was enough.
Whitman was heavily influenced by Emerson, American icon and leader of the American Transcendentalist movement. Emerson wrote a number of great poems over the period 1834–67. My favorites: The Rhodora, Concord Hymn, The Humble Bee, Days, and Terminus.
Dickinson was exposed to Emerson early in life, and casually mentions transcendentalism in Sic transit, her second published poem, a romp of a song that would make Whitman envious. Dickinson is not commonly regarded as a transcendentalist, but one could hardly imagine a more self-reliant poet. It is arguable that she was as transcendentalist as any, only in her uniquely reticent way. Perhaps she would have been so even if the Emerson were never born. Her poem The brain is wider than the sky may be the most playful transcendentalist poem of all, and her peom The soul selects her own society sounds very much like Thoreau speaking of his majority of one.
Second only to Emerson in the Transcendentalist firmament, and perhaps even surpassing Emerson in the 20th Century, was Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau wrote a number of fine poems in the early 1840s, among them Sic Vita, The Inward Morning, Haze, and Winter Memories. The Inward Morning is perhaps the most overtly transcendentalist among the better poems of Emerson and Thoreau.
Two other noteworthy transcendentalist poets were Margaret Fuller and Jones Very. Perhaps these two ought not be mentioned in tandem, as the former was—and is—respected highly as a writer and critic, whereas the latter was, well, a little whacko!
Other noteworthy poets of this era were William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, and James Russell Lowell. One of my favorites from the period is Whittier's haunting lyric Song of Slaves in the Desert. Otherwise, I haven't been able to gain much appreciation for these poets.
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Emily Dickinson's Life