Ichabod by John Greenleaf Whittier
"Ichabod" by John Greenleaf Whittier is a poignant poem that expresses deep disillusionment with a prominent political figure, reflecting the sentiments of many abolitionists during the mid-19th century. The title, derived from a biblical name meaning "the glory has departed," encapsulates Whittier's sense of loss and betrayal when New Hampshire senator Daniel Webster supported the Missouri Compromise, which allowed for the expansion of slavery. In the poem, Whittier employs rich biblical allusions, likening Webster to a fallen angel from John Milton's "Paradise Lost," lamenting his lost honor and the affection of his followers.
The poem opens with a tone of sorrow, urging a response of pity and mourning rather than anger, as he calls for his contemporaries to honor the memory of the once-revered politician. Whittier’s use of imagery, such as the reference to Noah's shameful state, serves to emphasize the need for respectful acknowledgment of past virtues even in the face of disillusionment. This work is widely regarded as a classic example of American political poetry, where the personal and political intersect, revealing the emotional weight behind the ideological battles of the time. "Ichabod" resonates as both a historical critique and a universal commentary on disappointment in leadership.
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Ichabod by John Greenleaf Whittier
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1850 (collected in The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, 1894)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
On March 7, 1850, New Hampshire senator Webster gave a noted speech in which he supported the political settlement known as the Missouri Compromise, by which new slave states could enter the Union. Whittier had been a supporter of Webster since the early 1830’s and was thunderstruck by his move, as were many abolitionists. In the National Anti-Slavery Standard, James Russell Lowell demanded rhetorically “Shall not the Recording Angel write Ichabod (inglorious one) after the name of this man in the great book of Doom?” Whittier adopted the biblical name as the title for his political denunciation of Webster but expressed his sorrow and anger in other biblical terms. “So fallen! so lost!” the poem opens, “the light withdrawn.” Webster is the fallen angel of John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667), his “bright soul driven, . . . From hope and heaven!” He has lost honor and his followers’ love, but Whittier counsels not “passion’s stormy rage,” “not scorn and wrath” but “pitying tears” and a “long lament” as the nation’s response. The disillusioned poet calls his fellows to treat Webster—who is never named—as one who is dead and to “pay the reverence of old days/ To his dead fame. . . .” He ends by referencing the drunken Noah in Genesis, whose sons approached his shameful nakedness walking “backward, with averted gaze” to cover the patriarch’s folly. By mentioning neither Webster nor his speech, Whittier universalizes his sense of betrayal in what many consider a classic American poetic political denunciation, also known as a philippic.
Bibliography
Kribbs, Jayne K. Critical Essays on John Greenleaf Whittier. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1980.
Leary, Lewis, and Sylvia Bowman. John Greenleaf Whittier. New York: Macmillan, 1983.
Pickard, John B. John Greenleaf Whittier: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961.
Pickard, Samuel T. Life and Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier. Reprint. New York: Haskell House, 1969.
Wagenknecht, Edward C. John Greenleaf Whittier: A Portrait in Paradox. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Woodwell, Roland H. John Greenleaf Whittier: A Biography. Haverhill, Mass.: Trustees of the Whittier Homestead, 1985.