beginnings of a national identity.^255 The same critic who makes these observations about Latin
literature also illustrates the way many nineteenth-century European and American scholars
viewed Roman studies: “The Romantic assumption that the story of Rome is the story of loss
coincides with the views of Herder and Hegel on the close connection between language and the
spirit of a race.”^256 Among other Romantic-age thinkers such as Michelet and Vico, Rome is
valued for its exemplary history, cultural transformations, and societal institutions, in spite of its
association with inconsolable woe and eventual demise.^257
The privileging of Rome, as just outlined, takes on increased significance for a HaitianRomantic poet like Coicou who seeks to anchor Haitian poetry in both ancient and modern
traditions. The progression which Williams outlines, from Latin and Greece to France and Haiti
means that poetry’s enduring legacy from earlier times surpasses mere connections to French
literature of the nineteenth century. In addition, the continual relevance of the poet for
nineteenth-century Haiti will become apparent in Coicou’s poem “Introduction,” where it is
stated that the mission of the poet is both that of spiritual guide and soldier-patriot. As Williams
discusses poetry throughout the ages, he increasingly focuses on the association of poet and
patriot, as poets are consumed with the suffering and misfortunes of their countries. Williams
states: “Le poète aime sa patrie, et la veut libre et indépendante...”^258 Related to this then is the
poet’s role in combat of various sorts or in defense of national interests, from the bards in Gaul
to the French Romantics like Hugo and Lamartine, whose importance for nineteenth-century
Haitian writers was discussed in the chapter on Oswald Durand. A poet’s devotion to his nation
(^255) Habinek 8. Habinek frames his study in light of other recent writings on political identity, including Benedict
Anderson and the description of how literature functions to create an “imagined community” of readers and writers
in the development of modern nationalisms.
(^256) Habinek 20.
(^257) Habinek 29.
(^258) Williams, Poésies Nationales 20.