John Brown's Body
"John Brown's Body" is an epic poem written by Stephen Vincent Benét, published over sixty years after the American Civil War. The poem chronicles significant events from the war, starting with John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 and concluding with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Through a variety of poetic forms, Benét explores the war's impact on the nation, incorporating perspectives from individuals on both the Union and Confederate sides. Notably, the poem features fictional characters Jack Ellyat and Clay Wingate, whose journeys symbolize the broader experiences of their respective regions.
Benét's work is marked by a blend of realism and romanticism, vividly depicting figures like a runaway slave named Spade, while also celebrating personal and national reunions. The poem is likened to a cyclorama, providing a comprehensive view of the Civil War's effects on American society. "John Brown's Body" was well-received, selling over 100,000 copies in its first year and winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1929. Its exploration of themes like redemption and unity resonates with readers, contrasting with the disillusionment felt by many writers in the post-World War I era.
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Subject Terms
John Brown's Body
Identification: A book-length poem about the Civil War
Author: Stephen Vincent Benét
Date: 1928
Published more than sixty years after the American Civil War, John Brown’s Body is an epic poem that recounts the major events of the war and explores its overall effect on the nation through the viewpoints of individuals on either side of the conflict. In a variety of poetic meters and forms, Stephen Vincent Benét chronicles the war from John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859 to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Acclaimed for its wealth of historical detail and depiction of historical figures ranging from Confederate president Jefferson Davis to Union general Ulysses S. Grant, John Brown’s Body was Stephen Vincent Benét’s attempt to reinterpret the Civil War for readers of his time and succeeding generations. He depicts the war as a redemptive struggle resulting in the reunification of the country and serving as a catalyst for western expansion.
Comparing his poem to a cyclorama, a large panoramic picture arranged in a cylindrical space to provide a 360-degree view of a scene or event, Benét traces the fates of his representative Northerner, Jack Ellyat of Connecticut, and Southerner, Clay Wingate of Georgia, from their initial presentiments of the upcoming conflict to their respective homecomings. As in a cyclorama, the poem comes full circle, beginning and ending with these two fictional characters, whose individual stories reflect the collective destinies of their respective regions. John Brown’s Body is characterized by realism that is particularly apparent in its depiction of a runaway slave, Spade, who faces nearly as many challenges in the North as he did in the South. Yet, romanticism is evident in the poem’s depictions of individual and national reunions. Melora, the young woman who shelters Ellyat after the Battle of Shiloh and subsequently gives birth to his son, sets out across the country to find her lost love. Their personal reunion at the poem’s end and that of Wingate and his childhood sweetheart Sally mirror the restoration of national unity.
Impact
Benét’s explicit patriotism stood in stark contrast to the post–World War I disillusionment of many writers of the 1920s, and theblend of realism and romanticism in John Brown’s Body further endeared it to the reading public. Unusual for a book-length poem, the work was widely popular, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first year of publication. In 1929, John Brown’s Body received the Pulitzer Prize.
Bibliography
Fenton, Charles A. Stephen Vincent Benét: The Life and Times of an American Man of Letters, 1898–1943. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1958.
Izzo, David Garrett, and Lincoln Konkle, eds. Stephen Vincent Benét: Essays on his Life and Work. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2003.
Stroud, Parry E. Stephen Vincent Benét. New York: Twayne, 1962.