American Inaugural Poetry: Poetics and Style

Abstract

The paper represents critical reflection on a fifty-five-year history of American inaugural poetry. The research opens with the overview of theoretical aspects of occasional poetry, focusing on poetics and style of the poems commissioned for presidential inaugurations. Further on the article outlines the history of inaugural poetry in the U.S. Special attention is given to the comparative analysis of the poems The Gift Outright by Robert Frost, On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou, Of History and Hope by Miller Williams, Praise Song for the Day by Elizabeth Alexander and One Today by Richard Blanco. The comparative research focuses on the representation of the major themes, ideas and imagery in the above-mentioned inaugural poems.