Brooklyn Bridge
Title
Brooklyn Bridge
Description
This poem was written by Charles G. D. Roberts and published in the June 1899 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. The poem is about the Brooklyn Bridge and it shows some of the same themes that we have seen in other works. The author is clearly enthralled with the bridge and relates its beauty to nature. If we look at lines three, seven, and eight in succession,
"Nature accepts you for her own,
And takes you, from the hand of man,
For some new handiwork of God."
we get the image that the bridge is so wonderfully constructed, so perfect that it appears that God himself had constructed it. The bridge had a special place in the hearts and minds of New Yorkers of this time and we can see this same awe for the bridge in Martin Dressler. Martin mentions the bridge numerous times throughout the story relating the bridge to power and majesty. At one point he asks a rhetorical question to himself in reference to Claire Moore's belief that shear size was humorous, "He himself found nothing humorous about sheer size, which on the contrary produced a sensation of power, of majesty - had anyone ever laughed at the Brooklyn Bridge?". Later in the story after seeing an advertisement made by Harwinton for his Grand Cosmo, Martin again asks himself a question "Was it possible that even Harwinton felt the power of the bridge?" The reason that the bridge represented power and majesty to Martin was that at the time it was one of the single greatest engineering achievements in history, and the fascination with science and technology at this time only added to the love for the bridge.
"Nature accepts you for her own,
And takes you, from the hand of man,
For some new handiwork of God."
we get the image that the bridge is so wonderfully constructed, so perfect that it appears that God himself had constructed it. The bridge had a special place in the hearts and minds of New Yorkers of this time and we can see this same awe for the bridge in Martin Dressler. Martin mentions the bridge numerous times throughout the story relating the bridge to power and majesty. At one point he asks a rhetorical question to himself in reference to Claire Moore's belief that shear size was humorous, "He himself found nothing humorous about sheer size, which on the contrary produced a sensation of power, of majesty - had anyone ever laughed at the Brooklyn Bridge?". Later in the story after seeing an advertisement made by Harwinton for his Grand Cosmo, Martin again asks himself a question "Was it possible that even Harwinton felt the power of the bridge?" The reason that the bridge represented power and majesty to Martin was that at the time it was one of the single greatest engineering achievements in history, and the fascination with science and technology at this time only added to the love for the bridge.
Creator
Charles G. D. Roberts
Source
Roberts, Charles G. D. "Brooklyn Bridge." <i>Atlantic Monthly</i> June 1899: 839-40. <i>Making of America</i>. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
Publisher
The Atlantic Monthly
Contributor
Dalton Spatz
Files
Collection
Citation
Charles G. D. Roberts, “Brooklyn Bridge,” Three Decades of NYC, accessed May 11, 2024, http://www.loyolanotredamelib.org/en203/items/show/110.