Amazing Grace in the Back Country (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Robert Penn Warren
- First Published: 1977
- Type of Work: Narrative
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Adolescence, Twentieth century, Religion, Rural or country life, 1910’s, Christianity, Revelation, Religious life, Tents
The Poem
In “Amazing Grace in the Back Country,” the aging Robert Penn Warren looks back with nostalgia and wry amusement at a revivalist camp meeting he attended in rural Kentucky when he was twelve years old. Although he was quite convinced at that age that he was indeed sinful, he “hardened his heart” and refused the “amazing grace” offered by the revivalists. The tone is ironic throughout, and the poem implies that human behavior is not noticeably different after repentance. Nevertheless, this poem is not contemptuous of the yearning for redemption and...
[The entire page is 1430 words long]
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