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In his Poetics, Plato contemplates the nature of aesthetics and existence. He postulates that for every existing object and idea there is an absolute "ideal" which transcends human experience. He further concludes that art, including literature, is an aestheti ....

Middle of Essay
.... can show how American authors explore the ideals of human existence through aesthetic representations of nature. William Cullen Bryant, who has been called "the father of American poetry," is one of the earliest artists to capture the essence of nature in America and apply it to the human experience. In his poem "To A Waterfowl" he uses the example of a waterfowl to reach a better understanding of human existence. In the poem, the waterfowl is portrayed as a near-perfect creation, and it is treated with a sense of reverence. The first stanza demonstrates this: Whither, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last ....