Popular Poetry Aroused by the Civil War: From Its Function of Solidarity to Its Influence on Music and Art

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24520266
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Literature in English
Research Institution	Rikkyo University (2014) Tohoku University (2012-2013)
Principal Investigator	SAWAIRI Yoji 立教大学, 文学部, 教授 (20261539)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
Budget Amount *help	¥5,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,170,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Keywords	大衆詩 / 南北戦争 / ジョン・グリーンリーフ・ホイッティア / ジェイムズ・ラッセル・ローウェル / ユーモア詩 / 式典詩 / ストーンウォール・ジャクソン / ワシントン砲兵隊 / アメリカ文学 / アメリカ詩 / ヘンリー・ティムロッド / ホイッティア / メリーランド / ニュー・オリンズ
Outline of Final Research Achievements	When the Civil War broke out, popular poets in America stood up to sing. They rendered almost all the aspects of the war including bravery and mourning. Although many of their poems were a simple expression of ingenuous feelings, artless in style and naive in sentiment, this study shows that some verse carry out complex functions in ingenious depiction. For instance, “Barbara Frietchie,” a poem written during the war about a fearless old woman defying an enemy force, is not just a morale-boosting portrayal but suggests even a mutual reconciliation and postwar peace. “That Bugler,” though being a Southern comic song in which soldiers make a loud complaint about their prevailing bugler, also functions to strengthen their unity as a corps and prepare them for an honorable death. Popular poems, even those of the Civil War, contained multi-layered meanings beneath the surface of straightforward text.