There are diverse genres throughout the Harper magazine such as essays, poems, narratives, and fiction stories. As I read the articles, I noticed that the topics were worldly. Often times, the writers do not limit their writing to topics pertaining to America. There are pieces of writing that compares events in America to other parts of the world as well. For instance, the first article that I read “A Paris Newspaper,” is about the inner workings and process of the creation of a French newspaper. In the article, the writer describes the office setting of the Parisian newspaper and compare with other newspaper offices in England and America. In the subsequent paragraphs, the author explains how the styles for publications and newspaper reflect the cultural differences between the countries.
The overall theme for the section of the Harper issue that I read seems to focus more on literature and entertainment rather than science. There are about four poems which range in themes from death and sorrow to peace and happiness. One particular poem that I enjoyed is “An Ode to the Sun,” by Leigh Hunt. The tone of the poem is very bright and optimistic as the writer honors the sun and show gratitude for all that the sun provides. I thought the poem was lighthearted and lyrical. Overall, the articles from Harper magazine give interesting viewpoints of what was being said during the nineteenth century.
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My articles from the September 1861 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine were also very diverse and unrelated to one another. Like yours, the topics were worldly and based more on culture and literature rather than science. By including a wide range of topics in the magazine, it succeeds at being a general-interest magazine that could appeal to a large audience. Today, our magazines seem to have a focus; one for fashion, one for news, etc. By being a well-rounded magazine, it becomes more educational for the reader, which was a main focus during that time. I also had an article that related the United States with another country. The article discussed how French pioneers that had settled in the US made their way up to Canada in hopes of establishing a settlement. Through this article, the reader is educated on the origins of civilized Canada, while being able to connect different areas of the world together. In the articles I read, the magazine went from providing lessons on history to discussing current trends in the article Fashions for September. This is just another example of how the magazine provides a breadth of diverse topics and gives insight to nineteenth century.
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