The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings
Like other prominent members of the revolutionary generation, Philip Freneau lived his formative years against the backdrop of the imperial crisis that would lead to the independence of the US in 1776, and this would make a lasting impression on his later life and writings, especially as regards hi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Zaragoza
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/10922 |
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| author | Álvaro Albarrán Gutiérrez |
| author_facet | Álvaro Albarrán Gutiérrez |
| author_sort | Álvaro Albarrán Gutiérrez |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Like other prominent members of the revolutionary generation, Philip Freneau lived his formative years against the backdrop of the imperial crisis that would lead to the independence of the US in 1776, and this would make a lasting impression on his later life and writings, especially as regards his ideas on the possibility for creativity and individuality in a time of increasing politicisation. This article examines the particular terms in which the poet’s college experiences influenced his conflicted take on liberty and imagination, which remained a persistent concern both during and after his time at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Drawing on original archival work, the article focuses on his most extensive reflection on the matter, “The Power of Fancy” (1770), and offers an analysis of the poem in connection with several other prominent eighteenth-century philosophical and literary texts that also address the imaginative faculty. In so doing, the article reveals the workings of an anti-imaginistic tradition, instilled through the curriculum of late-colonial Princeton, in Freneau’s college writings — a tradition that the poet both espoused and resisted on his quest for individual autonomy and creative expression.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7b7d0c765c5b4f438cb340b361093cd0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1137-6368 2386-4834 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Zaragoza |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-7b7d0c765c5b4f438cb340b361093cd02025-08-20T02:35:57ZengUniversidad de ZaragozaMiscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies1137-63682386-48342025-06-017110.26754/ojs_misc/mj.202510922The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College WritingsÁlvaro Albarrán Gutiérrez0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9619-8861Universidad de Sevilla Like other prominent members of the revolutionary generation, Philip Freneau lived his formative years against the backdrop of the imperial crisis that would lead to the independence of the US in 1776, and this would make a lasting impression on his later life and writings, especially as regards his ideas on the possibility for creativity and individuality in a time of increasing politicisation. This article examines the particular terms in which the poet’s college experiences influenced his conflicted take on liberty and imagination, which remained a persistent concern both during and after his time at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). Drawing on original archival work, the article focuses on his most extensive reflection on the matter, “The Power of Fancy” (1770), and offers an analysis of the poem in connection with several other prominent eighteenth-century philosophical and literary texts that also address the imaginative faculty. In so doing, the article reveals the workings of an anti-imaginistic tradition, instilled through the curriculum of late-colonial Princeton, in Freneau’s college writings — a tradition that the poet both espoused and resisted on his quest for individual autonomy and creative expression. https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/10922Philip FreneauFancyLibertyImaginationPrinceton |
| spellingShingle | Álvaro Albarrán Gutiérrez The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies Philip Freneau Fancy Liberty Imagination Princeton |
| title | The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings |
| title_full | The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings |
| title_fullStr | The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings |
| title_short | The Power of Fancy: Liberty and Imagination in Philip Freneau's College Writings |
| title_sort | power of fancy liberty and imagination in philip freneau s college writings |
| topic | Philip Freneau Fancy Liberty Imagination Princeton |
| url | https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/10922 |
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