For a Citizen of These United States Essay | Critical Essay #1

For a Citizen of These United States Critical Essay #1

Hill is the author of a poetry collection, has published widely in literary journals, and is an editor for a university publications department. In the following essay, Hill contends that Lee's poem is more an attempt to gain sympathy than to produce a creative work.

If one defines pathos as the essence of a creative work that arouses feelings of sympathy or pity in its audience, then Lee's "For a New Citizen of These United States" is, at least, an attempt to be pathetic. Generally, this is a tricky issue for poets, as they run the risk of turning off readers who may consider the pathos simply whining. In Lee's case, the subject of his poem is real, the premise of his poem is real, and the "new citizen" to whom it is addressed is, presumably, real. Therefore, one is tempted to say that the...
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