Flower-de-Luce and Autumn

The poem "Flower-de-Luce" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the poem "A Legacy" by John Greenleaf Whittier have man similarities and differences. Firstly, they are both works romanticism writing. Romanticism is defined at "a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement in the 1700s emphasizing the imagination and the emotions, advocating feeling over reason, inner spirituality over external rules, the individual above society, and nature over environments created by humans" (Appleby). "Flower-de-Luce" is quite obviously romanticism writing. Nature is woven throughout the entire poem, and there are many details of the nature. Also, the author is very much so exerting his feelings over reason, he tells of his old companion who has passed away. He tells of how he misses him, and gets very emotional in doing so (Longfellow). "A Legacy" is also romanticism writing. It does not exhibit many allusions to nature, however, I believe that the whole poem is about the legacy the author will leave behind to his friend after he dies. I could not find any literary criticisms on either "A legacy", or "Flower-de-Luce", but I have inferred many things from the poems on my own, whether they be accurate inferences or not. I believe that "A Legacy" also exemplifies romanticism writing because it really did put the author's emotions over reason, individuality over society, and his inner spirituality over external rules.

Although "A Legacy" and "Flower-de-Luce" are written by different authors, they have many similarities. The most obvious similarity is that they are both about death. "Flower-de-Luce is about the author after one of his great companions dies. It is about his feelings and trying to cope with his death and realizing that there was no man quite like his friend was, and nobody can take his place. His legacy will live on. "A Legacy" on the other hand, is about death of the author. I believe that it is a poem for a friend of his and how his friend should handle the death of the author. I think he is giving him permission not to mourn, but instead remember the good times. The third line of the poem reads "Let me not leave, to pain and sadden thee" (Whittier). He is wanting his friend to know that just because he died, it does not mean that his friend must be sad. As well as being about death, both of the poems are about moving on. In "Flower-de-Luce" the author is lost after Hawthorne dies. He seems to just be living life without purpose. He does not know what to do after his friend dies, he is just aimlessly wandering through life. But eventually he realizes that Hawthorne is in Heaven with the angels and questions who will finish his beautiful writing for him. Only to realize that the writings must remain unfinished, and that nobody could do as well as Hawthorne. He realizes he realizes he must move on after Hawthorne's death. In "A Legacy" the author is telling his friend to move on after he has died. He does not his friend to waste his life being sad about him, and would rather him remember the good times that they had together and to continue living his own life. There are many similarities and differences between the two poems, but I believe that overall they are very similar because they both maintain similar writing style of romanticism.

Whittier, John G. "A Legacy by John Greenleaf Whittier." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 09 Dec. 2011.

Longfellow, Henry W. "Hawthorne. Flower-de-Luce. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 1893. Complete Poetical Works." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 09 Dec. 2011. .