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Thesis
BAPTIZED BY FIRE
University of West Florida
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2018
Abstract
America's perception of Appalachian culture and society is largely superficial, a close reading of Robert Morgan's poetry that deals specifically with Pentecostalism is needed in Appalachian studies because of the ways in which Pentecostal expressions have historically shaped Appalachian religious stereotypes. Furthermore, the peculiar expressions of Pentecostalism that are local to the Appalachian region help us understand Appalachian identity and culture in new and more holistic ways. The three poems I consider in this essay are "Baptism of Fire," "The Gift of Tongues," and "Prayer Meeting," all of which depict the issues concerning Appalachian Pentecostal expressions in which Morgan is most interested. These expressions include the unorthodoxy of Appalachian Pentecostal doctrine, the disorderliness of Appalachian Pentecostal church services, and the emphasis on ecstatic manifestations and tongue speaking, or glossolalia. However, the poems' themes are also interested in revealing larger Appalachian cultural issues, as, on the surface, the characters and situations in these poems disclose Morgan's attitude toward Appalachian Pentecostalism; however, they ultimately are typologies of larger cultural and social issues that Morgan wants to expose, including Appalachia's isolation from larger society, its social and cultural attitude toward the rest of the world, and its hostility between children and parents.
Details
- Title
- BAPTIZED BY FIRE
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Copyright
- http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
- Identifiers
- 99380090839506600
- Academic Unit
- English
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida