"Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan" is a lyric poem by American poet Vachel Lindsay.[1] Written in August 1919, the poem recounts the dramatic rise and fall of U.S. presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan during the 1896 presidential campaign.[2] The work was first published in The Sun, a New York City newspaper, and later included in Lindsay's 1920 collection The Golden Whales of California And Other Rhymes in the American Language.[3] The poem focuses upon the initial flowering of hope and later widespread despair among Bryan's ardent supporters throughout the electoral vicissitudes of the campaign.
The long parade rolled on. I stood by my best girl. She was a cool young citizen, with wise and laughing eyes. With my necktie by my ear, I was stepping on my dear, But she kept like a pattern, without a shaken curl. She wore in her hair a brave prairie rose. Her gold chums cut her, for that was not the pose. No Gibson Girl would wear it in that fresh way. But we were fairy Democrats, and this was our day.
The poem chronicles William Jennings Bryan's 1896 presidential campaign as seen through the eyes of an idealistic sixteen-year-old boy who strongly supports the Democratic Party candidate.[4] While attending a Springfield, Illinois rally with his best girl, the young lovers hear the famous Cross of Gold speech recited by Bryan, a former United States Representative from Nebraska.[5]
In the speech, Bryan supports bimetallism or "free silver", which he argues will bring the nation prosperity, and he decries the gold standard, proclaiming that "you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold".[6] Bryan's oft-recited speech becomes one of the most famous political addresses in American history and garners the young boy's undying loyalty.[5]
The boy's spirits are later crushed by Bryan's defeat via political intrigue at the hands of the Republican Party.[4] The poem depicts the election outcome as an ignominious victory of large financial institutions and East Coast elites such as John Pierpont Morgan over the poorer regions and interest groups depicted as friendly toward Bryan such as the American Midwest and farmers.[7]
The poem lists and comments upon many of the key political figures of the 1896 election, including the retiring presidential incumbent Grover Cleveland,[8] the winning candidate William McKinley,[8] and McKinley's innovative campaign manager Mark Hanna.[9] The poem also references contemporary 1890s cultural archetypes such as the Gibson Girl.[3]
Jack, Peter Monro (December 8, 1935), "The Age Failed Lindsay's Poetry", The New York Times Book Review, retrieved December 12, 2021
Kazin, Michael (2006), A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN978-0-375-41135-9 – via Internet Archive
Lindsay, Vachel (1920), "Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan", The Golden Whales of California And Other Rhymes in the American Language, United States: Macmillan, retrieved December 6, 2021 – via Google Books
Lindsay, Vachel (August 17, 1919), "Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan", The Sun, New York City, retrieved December 6, 2021 – via Library of Congress's Chronicling America
Will, Allen Sinclair (November 24, 1929), "Paxton Hibben's Biography of Bryan; Hibben's Biography of Bryan", The New York Times, retrieved December 12, 2021
External linksedit
Text of "Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan" (Library of Congress)
Text of "Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan" (Poem Hunter)
Text of "Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan" (Read by Steve Kline)
This article related to a poem from the 1910s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
bryan, bryan, bryan, bryan, confused, with, bryan, lyric, poem, american, poet, vachel, lindsay, written, august, 1919, poem, recounts, dramatic, rise, fall, presidential, candidate, william, jennings, bryan, during, 1896, presidential, campaign, work, first, . Not to be confused with Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan is a lyric poem by American poet Vachel Lindsay 1 Written in August 1919 the poem recounts the dramatic rise and fall of U S presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan during the 1896 presidential campaign 2 The work was first published in The Sun a New York City newspaper and later included in Lindsay s 1920 collection The Golden Whales of California And Other Rhymes in the American Language 3 The poem focuses upon the initial flowering of hope and later widespread despair among Bryan s ardent supporters throughout the electoral vicissitudes of the campaign Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryanby Nicholas Vachel LindsayWrittenWilliam Jennings BryanVachel LindsayCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishWilliam Jennings Bryan and poet Vachel Lindsay Contents 1 Summary 2 References 2 1 Citations 2 2 Works cited 3 External linksSummary editThe long parade rolled on I stood by my best girl She was a cool young citizen with wise and laughing eyes With my necktie by my ear I was stepping on my dear But she kept like a pattern without a shaken curl She wore in her hair a brave prairie rose Her gold chums cut her for that was not the pose No Gibson Girl would wear it in that fresh way But we were fairy Democrats and this was our day Vachel Lindsay Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan 1919 3 The poem chronicles William Jennings Bryan s 1896 presidential campaign as seen through the eyes of an idealistic sixteen year old boy who strongly supports the Democratic Party candidate 4 While attending a Springfield Illinois rally with his best girl the young lovers hear the famous Cross of Gold speech recited by Bryan a former United States Representative from Nebraska 5 In the speech Bryan supports bimetallism or free silver which he argues will bring the nation prosperity and he decries the gold standard proclaiming that you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold 6 Bryan s oft recited speech becomes one of the most famous political addresses in American history and garners the young boy s undying loyalty 5 The boy s spirits are later crushed by Bryan s defeat via political intrigue at the hands of the Republican Party 4 The poem depicts the election outcome as an ignominious victory of large financial institutions and East Coast elites such as John Pierpont Morgan over the poorer regions and interest groups depicted as friendly toward Bryan such as the American Midwest and farmers 7 The poem lists and comments upon many of the key political figures of the 1896 election including the retiring presidential incumbent Grover Cleveland 8 the winning candidate William McKinley 8 and McKinley s innovative campaign manager Mark Hanna 9 The poem also references contemporary 1890s cultural archetypes such as the Gibson Girl 3 References editCitations edit Will 1929 p 8 Jack 1935 p 5 Lindsay 1919 Lindsay 1920 a b c Lindsay 1920 p 25 a b Lindsay 1920 pp 18 19 a b Kazin 2006 p 61 Kazin 2006 p 61 Lindsay 1920 p 26 Lindsay 1920 pp 21 25 28 30 a b Lindsay 1920 p 29 Lindsay 1920 pp 20 27 29 Works cited edit Jack Peter Monro December 8 1935 The Age Failed Lindsay s Poetry The New York Times Book Review retrieved December 12 2021 Kazin Michael 2006 A Godly Hero The Life of William Jennings Bryan New York Alfred A Knopf ISBN 978 0 375 41135 9 via Internet Archive Lindsay Vachel 1920 Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan The Golden Whales of California And Other Rhymes in the American Language United States Macmillan retrieved December 6 2021 via Google Books Lindsay Vachel August 17 1919 Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan The Sun New York City retrieved December 6 2021 via Library of Congress s Chronicling America Will Allen Sinclair November 24 1929 Paxton Hibben s Biography of Bryan Hibben s Biography of Bryan The New York Times retrieved December 12 2021External links editText of Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan Library of Congress Text of Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan Poem Hunter Text of Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan Read by Steve Kline nbsp This article related to a poem from the 1910s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bryan Bryan Bryan Bryan amp oldid 1145751549, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
