Mark Twain is widely considered, to this day, to be one of the most iconic writers of a generation. Legally known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain’s poetry and prose had a personality of its own. His works were celebrated for their blend of wit, irony, and humor. It is also his social commentary and satirical approach to poetry that put him up there with the all-time humorist greats.
Twain had a wide breadth of talents that differed from his poetic roots, such as writing travelogues, essays, and speeches. His wit and thought-provoking nature allowed him to touch on topics ranging from politics to religion. His versatility as a writer is clear to see. Twain’s sharp humor and satirical voice became his trademark.
It was also in his hobbies and career pursuits that he diverged from normal paths. He started his career as a typesetter at a newspaper, worked as a printer, a riverboat pilot, and then turned to gold mining.
He has gone down as a legend of literature, with Ernest Hemingway once saying, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Twain called “Huckleberry Finn.”
Early Life
Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri, in November of 1835. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and he was the sixth child born to John Clemens and Jane Clemens. Of the seven children born into the Clemens family, only three survived past childhood. As a child, Sam Clemens’ family moved to Hannibal on the banks of the Mississippi River, Missouri. It was a small port town that would later serve as the inspiration for the town of St. Petersburg in Twain’s novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain was also a poet and wrote many poems.
Early Life and Apprenticeship
Twain’s father died when the boy was just eleven years old. It was around this time that he left school in order to become an apprentice printer. This apprenticeship resulted in his working as a typesetter for the Hannibal Journal, a newspaper that was owned by his brother Orion. His role in the paper also helped with his publishing of articles and sketches within its pages. When he turned 18, he left Missouri to work as a printer in a number of other cities. These included New York City, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. Since he did not get to finish his education, he spent a great deal of time at public libraries. This allowed him to acquire a broader perspective not offered in his rural home.
Although Twain was writing during this period, it was without ambition. In 1855, Twain moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where he worked for his brother’s new print shop. He became a partner for approximately a year before moving back to Cincinnati. A year later, he decided to travel via steamboat to New Orleans. It had been his goal to travel onward to South America in an attempt to make his fortune. This did not come to pass. Instead, he convinced the captain of the ship to take him on as an apprentice.
Days as a Steamboat Captain
Twain later cited his days learning how to pilot a ship as being some of his best. He relished the freedom the river provided and the respect with which he was regarded. Twain received his pilot’s license in 1859. Over the following years of his piloting career, he fell in love and accidentally played a part in the death of his brother. Twain secured a job for his younger brother Henry on a riverboat on which the boiler exploded, fatally injuring him.
These years also saw Twain write a few, mostly comical pieces. One of these was River Intelligence. It was written in 1859 and detailed the life of a riverboat pilot named Isaiah Sellers. Two years after receiving his riverboat license, he left the profession. This was mainly due to the outbreak of the Civil War. The details of this period were recalled in The Private History of the Campaign That Failed, published many years later in 1885.
Reporting Career
In an effort to find new employment, Twain petitioned the Territorial Enterprise for work. Twain was offered a job in journalism, as a reporter, in Nevada. It was in 1863 that something written by “Mark Twain” first surfaced. It was a report on the legislative session in Carson City. This period saw a few of Twain’s sketches and articles appearing in New York. His reputation was slowly growing. He went on to become a correspondent, then a full-time reporter, for the San Francisco Morning Call.
He soon began writing pieces for the Californian, a literary magazine. This was work he found to be much more interesting. These were the years that confirmed to Twain that he was meant to be a writer. He wrote for a number of other newspapers and traveled to Hawaii. Then, he began a lecture tour throughout the Hawaiian islands. This endeavor was a success but not something he enjoyed. In 1865 Twain got his big break with his work Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog, which was printed countrywide. His first book was finally published in 1867 and was titled The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras and Other Sketches.
Literary Successes
His first really successful book was The Innocents Abroad. It detailed his own trip to Europe and the Holy Land. On this trip, he met his future wife, Olivia Langdon. In 1873 Twain moved his wife and children to Hartford, Connecticut, where he had been planning the construction of a new home. Twain lived there for seventeen years and wrote the majority of his better-known works. These included The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published in 1876, The Prince and the Pauper, published in 1881; and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1885.
It was during this time that life did not treat Twain well, as his financial situation took a turn for the worst. Despite garnering monetary success for his writings, Twain was involved in a string of bad investments. This ultimately led to his bankruptcy. Tragically, Twain’s wife Olivia died in 1904, thirty-four years after they were married.
The last years of Twain’s life were spent in Manhattan, where he was in a deep depression. His daughter Suzy died of meningitis in 1896, followed by the death of his wife and youngest daughter Jean. Twain suffered a heart attack and died on April 21, 1910. He was buried alongside his wife at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York.
Famous Poems
Mark Twain was responsible for a number of iconic works. Here are some of his most famous poems:
- ‘A Sweltering Day in Australia‘
- ‘Genius‘
- ‘O Lord, Our Father‘
- ‘Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec’d‘
- ‘The Aged Pilot Man‘
- ‘Those Annual Bills‘
- ‘To Jennie‘
- ‘The Lowest Animal’
- ‘The War Prayer‘
Influences
Mark Twain, like many excellent writers, took inspiration from some of the best writers of all time. These included the likes of Charles Dickens, William Dean Howells, Miguel de Cervantes, Thomas Paine, and Michel de Montaigne.
Due to his enduring works, many literary figures that came after Twain have used his work as a benchmark. These include poets such as Robert Browning, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and John Greenleaf Whittier.
FAQs
Samuel Clemens took the pen name Mark Twain and became one of the most iconic American poets. He was a prolific writer and wrote over 50 books, and had much success as a lecturer, traveling worldwide in the process. His most famous works are Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sayer.
Arguably, Mark Twain’s most famous quote is considered to be, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” The quote was first seen in an 1897 newspaper column after a newspaper had mistakenly reported his death. The quote has since become a popular way to express that someone is still alive, despite rumors of their death.
Like many great writers, Mark Twain’s poetry was influenced by his first-hand experiences, the societal issues of his time, and the literature of the 19th century. He was a passionate reader, and his work was influenced by the works of Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and Miguel de Cervantes.
The tragic life of Mark Twain includes personal losses, such as the deaths of his wife and three of his children, as well as business failures that led to bankruptcy. Twain’s wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, died in 1904 after a long illness. Three of their four children also died young. Twain also suffered financial setbacks throughout his life.
The influences behind Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn include his own boyhood experiences, the complex social issues of his time, especially regarding race and slavery, and the regional dialects and characters of the American South.
