Oliver Wendell Holmes

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What are the literary themes in Oliver Wendell Holmes' works?

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Oliver Wendell Holmes' works often explore themes of nature, individuality, simplicity, and freedom, reflecting the Transcendentalist ideals of his time. His writing is characterized by wit and humor, often using satire to address social and patriotic themes. As a physician and poet, Holmes balanced intellectual and spiritual pursuits, making him a quintessential figure of the Transcendentalist era. His diverse oeuvre includes poetry, essays, and novels, highlighting his versatility and influence in American literature.

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Oliver Wendell Holmes (Sr.) was influential during the Transcendentalist period of American literature. Transcendentalism, as an ideology, prioritized freedom of self, being true to and revering your natural human form, and maintaining a balance between the intellectual and the spiritual. Transcendentalism arose during a period when, for the first time (on a larger scale), religion and science publicly clashed. What makes Oliver Wendell Holmes interesting is that he was a physician and a poet—a combination that would naturally make him an intellectual and a spiritual man, and therefore perfectly suited for the era of Transcendentalism.

As a poet during the era of Transcendentalism, like other poets of the era, a few literary themes he focused on were nature (e.g., "The Two Streams"), individuality (e.g., "Daily Trials of a Sensitive Man"), simplicity (e.g., "Contentment"), and freedom (e.g., "Sun and Shadow").

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Oliver Wendall Holmes had the heart...

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of a Renaissance scholar because not only was he a writer, but he was a doctor, studied law and became a professor as well. Emerson, Longfellow and Lowell were his contemporaries. He was an extremely versatile writer. He wrote essays, poetry and novels. His topics, therefore, were as varied as the genres in which he wrote. One thing that characterized all of his writings, however, was wit and humor.

His works were often satirical in a good-natured way, and he wrote a great deal of poetry that had patriotic themes and social themes. For example, he wrote Old Ironsides about the pending destruction of the U.S.S. Constitution and the uproar over the poem convinced the Navy not to destroy the ship. He also wrote The Last Leaf about the Boston Tea Party. He was a popular poet and wrote many works to commemorate various occasions. If you do some research on him, you will find that his works include novels, poetry, travelogues, non-fiction books (his "Breakfast Table" series), and even medical journals.

See the link below here on eNotes for some biographical information.

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