Trains, planes, and ships : machine culture and the cityscape in Hart Crane's The bridge
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Major/Program
English
First Advisor's Name
Richard P. Sugg
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Bruce A. Harvey
Third Advisor's Name
Denise Duhamel
Date of Defense
11-10-2010
Abstract
The focus of this thesis is Hart Crane’s The Bridge (1930), a work that examines America’s early twentieth-century mechanical advancements. Four inventions are the inspiration behind the poem and have been examined closely in this study: suspension bridges, trains, ships, and airplanes. The modernist era was characterized by rapid cultural changes that resulted from scientific improvements, mechanical progress, mass population shifts, and a world war, —all subjects Crane addresses in The Bridge. Contemporary readers may acknowledge the importance of The Bridge when read through the technological perspective described herein. In the modern world, railways, ships, and airplanes created new frontiers— as well as problems. In poetry, new fields of perception, pathways for individual points of view, and opportunities for artistic endeavors were created when the commotion of the cityscape and machine were incorporated into twentieth century poetry.
Identifier
FI15101510
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Arlene, "Trains, planes, and ships : machine culture and the cityscape in Hart Crane's The bridge" (2010). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3597.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3597
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