The handout/PDF that has "The Dying Indian" by Joseph Warton has another poem by him, "The Revenge of America." We talked about "The Dying Indian" in class today and identified some of its key features (dramatic monologue, appeal to the sublime). "The Revenge of America" has some similar ideas, but seeks to move the reader in a very different manner. Respond to this post by identifying an interesting difference or similarity between these two poems. Cite text as needed to explain your claim--the more specific you can be, the better!
Deadline: Wednesday (2/4), 10am.
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In the poem "The Revenge of America," the poem has elements of the sublime, similar to that of the "The Dying Indian". When Pisarro sits on the mountain and overlooks Peru, "He sat on Andes' topmost stone" (204), he understands the great damage that has happened to his Peru. By using the nature to understand the destruction of the nature of Peru, it becomes overwhelming and emotional for Pisarro. In "The Dying Indian," the nature element is used to describe the pain of the indian in the poetry, and this occurs in both poems to convey the natural elements of South America and how Europe has hurt these lifestyles.
I think it is interesting how each poem contrasts the relationship between natives and outsiders. "The Dying Indian" acknowledges that each culture has its own traditions which may seem cruel or savage to people of a different belief system. While the dying Indian calls for his crown of teeth and tells his son to kill his mother so that she will not suffer, he makes it very clear that he never held the same beliefs as "those that eat their God" (206). "The Revenge of America" takes a different approach in Pisarro's destruction of his crown and arrows. He is distinguishing himself as someone who aches for his people and cities, rather than someone who only cares for gold and material things like the outsiders in this poem.
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