# Invocation explained — John Brown’s Body

> Chapter companion for John Brown’s Body by Stephen Vincent Benét.

## What happens

The poet invokes the American muse, a multifaceted and elusive spirit embodying the nation's diverse landscapes, peoples, and histories. The poem reflects on the difficulty of capturing the true essence of America, which has been shaped by immigrants, exiles, and dreamers, and is now seen in both natural beauty and industrial power. The poet offers his work as a humble tribute, hoping to touch the immortal core of the American experience.

## Themes in this chapter

### National Identity

The entire poem is a meditation on the multifaceted and elusive nature of American identity, celebrating its diversity and contradictions.

### Myth and Memory

The poet invokes mythic images like the 'buffalo-ghost' and 'broncho-ghost,' and reflects on how memory and legend shape the perception of America.

## Key lines

> American muse, whose strong and diverse heart / So many men have tried to understand / But only made it smaller with their art

The poet addresses the American spirit, noting that many have attempted to capture it but have only diminished it through their limited portrayals.

_This opening sets the theme of the difficulty of representing America's vast complexity._

> They tried to fit you with an English song / And clip your speech into the English tale. / But, even from the first, the words went wrong, / The catbird pecked away the nightingale.

Early attempts to impose English culture on America failed because the native landscape and spirit resisted such foreign molds.

_Highlights the break from European tradition and the emergence of a distinct American voice._

> And each one married with a dream so proud / He never knew it could not be the truth / And that he coupled with a girl of cloud.

Each settler pursued an idealized vision of America, unaware that their dream was as intangible as a cloud.

_Reflects on the illusory nature of the American Dream and the gap between aspiration and reality._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/john_brown_s_body_se/chapters/invocation
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/john_brown_s_body_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/john_brown_s_body_se/chapters