Poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) proved a significant contributor to American Protestant hymnody—since 1843, more than 2,100 hymnals published in the United States have included adaptations of his works—despite the fact that Whittier never considered himself a hymnist.
This book compares and contrasts Whittier’s original published texts with versions adapted as hymns, exhibiting the hymnodic elements of his poetry and displaying the textual changes to Whittier’s lines by hymnal editors from a variety of denominations. The work offers in-depth comparative studies of many of his poems and their resultant hymns, a catalogue of hymns-from-poems, a chronology of Whittier’s life and works, notes, bibliography and index.

Samuel J. Rogal, a retired professor of English, has published numerous scholarly books and articles on English literature and British and American Methodism. He lives in Normal, Illinois.

Samuel J. Rogal
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 174
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4478-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5728-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1
Introduction: Whittier as Hymnodist      7

1. Dear Lord and Father of Mankind      13
2. Our Master      27
3. The Eternal Goodness      43
4. Worship      57
5. Hymns to the Churches      67
6. An Hymnodic Miscellany      85

Conclusion      105
Appendix A: A Catalogue of Hymns-from-Poems      107
Appendix B: A Whittier Chronology      133
Chapter Notes      139
Bibliography      153
Index      161