SOURCE: “The Concept of Inspiration in Thoreau's Poetry,” in Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, Vol. 79, No. 4, Part 1, September 1964, pp. 466-72.

In the following essay, Williams explores the importance in Thoreau's poetry of the idea of inspiration, and argues that he did not find poetry a substantial enough medium to give voice to his idea of spiritual beauty.

The great majority of Thoreau's poems bear in some way on the subject of inspiration: on the conditions of its induction, the description of its progression, the feeling and value of the vision it gives, or the lament for its absence. A study of inspiration in Thoreau's poetry throws new light on his poetic structures, themes, and image patterns, and perhaps offers ground for comment on why Thoreau dropped verse for prose almost entirely quite early in his writing career.

Inspiration to Thoreau meant apparently what it did...