The Maturing Critic

Abstract Dwight returned to Boston in the autumn of 1848 and immediately set about launching a career in journalism. He continued as a correspondent for The Harbinger, and he wrote reviews for the fashionable Boston Evening Transcript. More important was his stint at the Daily Chronotype, Elizur Wright’s Free Soil newspaper which took on women’s rights, temperance, and other pressing issues. Dwight did not forsake the writing of long-form essays, one of which was his Transcendentalist article “Music,” which appeared in Elizabeth Palmer Peabody’s groundbreaking publication Aesthetic Papers (1849). Dwight also contributed to Sartain’s Magazine and Graham’s Magazine, two popular, widely circulated periodicals in which he adapted his critical style to a general audience. As music editor, Dwight reshaped the repertoire included in both magazines to reflect a more elevated style. Unjustly accused of plagiarism, Dwight was also assailed as a Transcendentalist.