The Old Marlborough Road
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"The Old Marlborough Road" is a poem written by transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau in 1850.
Thoreau lived near the disused Old Marlboro Road in Concord, Massachusetts, and frequently walked along it, which inspired him to write the poem.[1] It first appeared as a journal entry in 1850; it was extensively revised before being incorporated into Walking, published posthumously in 1862.
Henry David Thoreau composed "The Old Marlborough Road" in August of 1850. The composition of the poem occurs during a period of Thoreau's career when he was walking and journaling extensively in the woods that surrounded his home in Concord, Massachusetts. Originating as a journal entry, the poem began as one of many observations Thoreau recorded during his daily excursions along the disused road that provided the inspiration for the poem's title.[2] Between 1849 and 1852 Thoreau made frequent visits to the Old Marlborough Road, a once-traveled road that had effectively been abandoned by the mid-nineteenth century.[3] [4] His fascination with the particular landscape of the road was based in its disuse and abandonment, which rendered the road unserviceable for the commercial purposes for which it was originally built, having been replaced by newer and more efficient routes connecting Marlborough to neighboring towns. [5]
Thoreau's composition of the poem reflects his philosophical and ideological interests during the period in which the poem was written. A transcendentalist, Thoreau was deeply interested in locating spiritual significance and meaning in the natural world and everyday landscapes.[6] The Old Marlborough Road, decaying and largely unused, provided Thoreau with exactly the sort of overlooked and isolated natural space that fueled his transcendentalist philosophy. In a journal entry from September 19, 1850, Thoreau observed that the "Red stemmed Cornel" and other flowers growing alongside the road, which would later inform his poetic rendering of the place.[7] On August 17, 1851, Thoreau noticed a wild apple tree by the road, which became symbolic of the natural reclamation of the road, wild vegetation growing precisely where society is absent. [8]
The poem references a myriad of historical persons from Concord, Massachusetts and its surrounding areas. "Martial Miles" was a landowner who resided near the road. "Elijah Wood" was a prominent citizen of Concord, descending from one of Concord's founders. Wood's son, Elijah Wood Jr., was a contemporary of Thoreau. Scholars remain unsure why Thoreau refers to the elder Wood stating, "I fear for no good" within the text of the poem. "Elisha Dugan" was a free African-American residing in Concord, the son of a formerly enslaved person who had escaped and become a landowner. The history of the Dugan family is discussed in detail in Elise Lemire's Novel Black Walden. "The Irishman Quin" referenced in the text has been speculated to refer to the descendants of James Quin, who records say owned a house on the Old Marlborough Road. [9]
The poem was later heavily revised before being posthumously published in Walking, which was published in 1862, over a decade after its initial composition. The integration of the poem into the larger essay gave the poem additional meaning in relation to the content of Walking, which is focused on the act of walking itself, American identity, and wildness.
