Synthesized answer
Alice Holmes' preface indicates her poems are a "simple offering to friendship" and that the work "ow[es] its appearance before the public solely on the one hand to the solicitations of friends" and on the other to her desire "to render some small return to those who have done much... to dispel the gloom that oft hangs with a heavier pall upon the heart" [1]. This suggests that her primary motivation was gratitude and a wish to acknowledge the support she received, rather than literary ambition [1].
If gratitude was her primary drive, it might influence the content to be more personal, directly expressing thanks or acknowledging specific benefactors through dedications or allusions [1]. The style might be less concerned with complex poetic devices or formal experimentation and more focused on sincerity and heartfelt expression. A reader, understanding this motivation, might interpret the poems less as purely aesthetic objects and more as personal testaments, appreciating the sentiment and the effort to reciprocate kindness. The passages state that "the only interest attached to the Poems, consists in the peculiar circumstances in the life of the writer" [1, 2], which could be…
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
For works with similar titles, see Poems . ← Poems ( 1849 ) by Alice Ann Holmes → related portals : Poetry , American literature 4689147 Poems 1849 Alice Ann Holmes POEMS . POEMS . BY. ALICE HOLMES . NEW.YORK: JOHN F. TROW, PRINTER, 49 & 51 ANN-STREET. 1849. THESE POEMS ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE MANAGERS OF THE New-York Institution FOR THE BLIND. PREFACE . The following collection of Poems is a simple offering to friendship, claiming nothing on the score of literary or poetic merit, and owing its appearance before the public solely on the one hand to the solicitations of…
feet. Perhaps the only interest attached to the Poems, consists in the peculiar circumstances in the life of the writer. She is blind: "Not to her returns Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; But clouds instead, and ever-during dark Surrounds her, from the cheerful ways of men Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair Presented with a universal blank Of nature's works." To those who sympathize with the stricken, and do not despise the humble efforts of a spirit seeking to beguile the hours of its…
← A Soliloquy Poems by Alice Ann Holmes Written after returning from Church Consolation → 4689183 Poems — Written after returning from Church Alice Ann Holmes Written after returning from Church. When in Thy sacred courts, O Lord! We meet with hearts sincere; To ask of Thee our daily bread, Then in our midst appear: And give us each a heart to feel, That Thou art truly there, Waiting to shed Thy dews of grace, On all who ask in prayer. And by Thy Spirit all Divine, Enlighten Thou our souls; That in Thy Word we may behold The glories it unfolds. And when to lure our hearts from Thee,…
For works with similar titles, see A Petition . ← On the Death of an Infant Poems by Alice Ann Holmes A Petition On Lent → 4689170 Poems — A Petition Alice Ann Holmes A Petition. Oh God, some guardian angel send To guide me through life's stormy sea: May peace and hope my path attend, Till I shall find a home with thee. But if Thy holy will be this, With pain my daily path to strew; Let me submit with willingness, And from this world, a brighter view. And when my days on earth are passed, And death shall with its terrors come, Oh, may my soul be safe at last, And borne by angels to its…
turned as a solace in her darker hour, directed thereto by a friend, an admirer and cultivator of the art, Miss Jean L. Bruce, then of Jersey City. To the tender care of friends she commends her little book, and the story of her life, trusting that its unpretending character will prove a protection from the pen of criticism, and a good intention atone for many faults. Jersey City, October , 1849. CONTENTS . This work was published before January 1, 1931, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. Public domain Public domain false false
More questions about this book
- The preface states that the poems claim "nothing on the score of literary or poetic merit" but find their "only interest" in the writer's "peculiar circumstances"—her blindness. How does this distinction invite a reader to approach and evaluate Holmes's work, and what does it imply about the purpose of her poetry?
- The preface extensively quotes John Milton's *Paradise Lost* to describe Alice Holmes's blindness. Why might the author/editor choose such a well-known classical reference instead of a more direct, personal description, and what impact does this intertextual choice have on the reader's perception of Holmes and her work?
- The narrative highlights the "New World, the land of promise" that filled the family's hopes, immediately followed by the "horrors of disease" that led to Alice's blindness *during* the journey. How does this juxtaposition of idealization and devastating personal tragedy create a unique tension in her story, and what might it suggest about the complex realities of the immigrant experience?
- By dedicating the poems to the New-York Institution for the Blind and addressing "those who sympathize with the stricken," what specific kind of reader-author relationship is established in the preface? How does this implied "contract" or expectation subtly guide the reader's emotional and critical engagement with the poetry that follows?