Two Poets as Animal Thinkers: Christopher Smart (1722–1771) and William Stafford (1914–1993)

Abstract Even though many poets have shone a light on the lives of other-than-human animals, poems remain a rich yet largely unexplored source of ethical sensitivity toward them. I will argue that an appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of animals as depicted in works by Christopher Smart (1722–1771) and William Stafford (1914–1993) can lead directly to an apprehension of the ethical significance of those animals. As captured in their poems, the beauty of animals—their embodied subjectivity and individuality—compels disinterested attention as a proper mode of response in both the poet and the reader. This response generates attitudes of respect, wonder, humility, and gratitude that have powerful ethical import. Smart and Stafford present us with not only the aesthetic meaning of animals but also with the ethical significance that flows from that meaning. That significance refines and enlarges the moral imagination of their readers.