Comparative Analysis of British and American Poetic Traditions: A Study of Hardy, Frost, Bishop, and Schuyler

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to compare British and American poets to identify their common features through the examples of works b y Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost Elizabeth Bishop, and James Schuyler. Each poet exemplifies unique cultural and stylistic traits: Whereas Hardy’s deterministic outlook and focus on the nature of fate is formalized in the manners of Britain, Frost relies on the transcendentalist sense of American individualism ingrained by nature. Bishop spans the two traditions, thus incorporating the British tradition’s measured tone with the American tradition’s observational approach. Schuyler, in her desire to be modern, rejects formalism in order to give voice to the mundane world in free verse. Collectively, these poets present the history behind the various poetic structures and contents within different cultures, and how a transatlantic exchange enlivens contemporary poetry.