Ghosts, Eidolons, Spirits, and Ghouls in Nineteenth Century American Poetry
SPIRITS
OED Defnition:
2.
a. The soul of a person, as commended to God, or passing out of the body, in the moment of death.
b. The disembodied soul of a (deceased) person, regarded as a separate entity.
3.
a. A supernatural, incorporeal, rational being or personality, usually regarded as imperceptible at ordinary times to the human senses, but capable of becoming visible at pleasure, and freq. conceived as troublesome, terrifying, or hostile to mankind.
Analysis of Representations in Nineteenth Century American Poetry:
Spirits are the most used form of undead in 19th century American poetry. Spirits are often synonymous with ghosts, but differ in distinct ways. Spirits represent the essence of the person after death, not what the person becomes in death. As in "A Mood," "Presentiment," and "Were but my Spirit Loosed upon the Air," spirits move freely out of life and into death. In poems like "A Mood," once reaching death, they lose form. In contrast, there are two different (though less frequent) types of spirits that remain in form after death. In "Why?" by Stephen Crane, the spirit remains in its form and haunts the living like a ghost would. "The Evening Wind," however, presents a spirit that lacks personality or humanity. The spirit wanders upon the earth, interacts with living beings, but resembles no individual in particular. Sometimes, as in "The Dead Moon," the spirits are the subjects of divine powers. Even when in form, spirits appear more ephemeral than ghosts, eidolons, or ghouls. They are at rest and peaceful.
List of Poems in which Ghosts Appear:
"A Mood" by Winifred Howells
"Lenore" by Edgar Allan Poe
"Why?" by Stephen Crane
"Were but my Spirit Loosed upon the Air" by Louise Chandler Moulton
"The Evening Wind" by William Cullen Bryant
"Ulalume" by Edgar Allan Poe
"The Dead Moon" by Danske Dandridge
"Presentiment" by Ambrose Bierce"
"Black Riders and Other Lines" by Stephen Crane
"The Haunted Palace" by Edgar Allan Poe
"The City of the Silent" by William Gilmore Simms
"The Widow's Song" by Edward Coote Pinkney