Individualism is a resounding tone heard throughout Whitman’s prose about democracy that was influenced by the historical context of the times as well as the ideology he independently formulated. The dawn of Jacksonian democracy called for a new American identity that diverged from old European views. Cultural reform movements, including Young America and Transcendentalism, combined with American industrialization, urbanization, and immigration to set a predominant tone of originality and individuality. Walt Whitman, while in his earlier years, formed a unique poetic style incorporating free verse, anaphoras, catalogues, and his famous poetic “I” that all symbolically and literally reflected this dramatic shift in American culture. “I Hear …show more content…
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The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing
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Although not formally declared a transcendentalist, Walt Whitman’s conception of a spiritual democracy draws on several of the core principles of Transcendentalism. While free verse and catalogs serve as metaphors for democratic liberty, a unique feature of Whitman's poetry known as the poetic “I” transforms his messages from personal beliefs into an altruistic voice of America. Historically, this ideology was popular throughout much of the mid-1800’s with the era of Jacksonian democracy. Among his several works, “The Sleepers” is one of the best exemplars of spiritual democracy because of its forthright political transcendence and egalitarian unboundedness. Beginning the poem is a brief illustration of the numerous slumbering Americans that span all walks of life. Whitman’s omniscient narration as both the observer and the dreamer lengthily catalogs the individual dreams of individuals. However, expansive lists that metaphorically stand as the democratic ideal of individualism are not the primary highlight of “The Sleepers.” Rather, the usage of the poetic “I” distinguishes this poem from traditional literature in that Whitman’s experiences infinitely expands to all Americans while
keep an eye out for any dangers but all the talk of these “Ities” had
“…I got a needle and thread”, he stated “and I had the end of a pillow case that was already hemmed and I remember taking, I remembered this, taking the needle
American Bards: Walt Whitman and Other Unlikely Candidates for National Poet. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2010. Print.
Very few people will contest that Walt Whitman may be one of the most important and influential writers in American literary history and conceivably the single most influential poet. However many have claimed that Whitman’s writing is so free form as evident in his 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass and Song of Myself that it has no style. The poetic structures he employs are unconventional but reflect his very democratic ideals towards America. Although Whitman’s writing does not include a structure that can be easily outlined, masterfully his writing conforms itself to no style, other then its own universal and unrestricted technique. Even though Whitman’s work does not lend itself to the conventional form of poetry in the way his contemporaries such as Longfellow and Whittier do, it holds a deliberate structure, despite its sprawling style of free association.
One day, a high school student uses a defibrillator designed for cardiac use on his head instead, and fries his brains into oblivion. “He simply took the waxed paper off the gluey parts and pasted
One part of the practice in particular that I really enjoy is working with our patients. I believe that in order to become an effective health care professional one must have the ability to transcend the medical jargon and communicate on a more personal level to turn the patient’s experience into something more than a “checkup”. This patient-doctor relationship is what motivates me to become an optometrist. I aspire to instill trust and confidence in patients under my care with hopes that it will lead to consistent and reliable experiences for
Whitman’s poem was written in the mid-1800s during the industrial revolution, but Hughes’ poem was written in the 1900s during the Civil Rights Movement. This is important because the Civil Rights Movement established the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Industrial Revolution moved at a slow place but there were still issues with slavery. Whitman’s poem was free verse while Hughes’ poem was traditional rhyme/rhythm. The tone of Whitman’s poem was patriotic and celebratory (I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear); because he was paying tribute to the success of the individuals; however, the tone of Hughes’ poem was sarcastic and frustrated (to build a “homeland of the free,’’ because he didn’t feel like some individuals were allowed to experience the American Dream. Whitman’s theme of his poem was that individuals and liberties make America great. On the other hand, Hughes’ theme of his poem expressed that individuals felt excluded from the “homeland of the free.” The purpose of Whitman’s poem is praise for universal brotherhood. However, Hughes’ poem’s purpose was to inform individuals about inequality, meaning that not everyone has the same liberties in America. Whitman’s poem focused on the jobs of the workers, while Hughes’ poem focused on race, social status, and a list to represent the “I am’’ phrase; (I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars). He also
During a lecture in 1907, William James said "the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly means. It is only partly got from books; it is our individual way of just seeing and feeling the total push and pressure of the cosmos" (Bartlett 546) Individuality has been a prevalent theme in every type of literature for quite some time. Whether it is a character discovering his/her individuality or the author expressing his, literature is full of distinctness. The term individuality changes meaning with each person it meets. That is what makes the dynamic word so great. Throughout particular works read this semester, individuality has been the foundation for several of them. Walt Whitman takes his newfound ideas and Quaker background and introduces American Literature to a totally different meaning of individuality in "Song of Myself."
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "An Important American Critic Views Whitman." Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Ed. James Woodress. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983. 116-127.
There are the women whose babies I've delivered, whom I've gotten to know at a clinic visit or during the early contractions of active labor, and then coached through the calm between pushes in the last few minutes before delivery. There are the teenagers at their first Gyn exam, nervously kicking the end of the table as we talk about safer sex, the benefits of the pill and just what a speculum actually is. And there are the patients who are very, very sick - the 44-year-old with metastatic ovarian cancer, whose family was ...
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.
While the poem can be termed to be democratic, both in subject matter and its language, Whitman is viewed to be cataloging the ‘new’ America that he is seeing around him. The poem includes subject matter such as relationships, patriotism, heroes, family and ancestors, and a view on social commentaries too.
Although Whitman uses a great deal of structural ways to stress his ideas, he also uses many other ways of delivering his ideas. First of all, Whitman portrays himself as a public spokesman of the masses. The tone of the poem is a very loud, informative tone that grabs ones attention. The emphasis placed on the word “all” adds to the characterization of Whitman as a powerful speaker. Furthermore, Whitman takes part in his own poem. Participating in his own poem, Whitman moreover illustrates the connection between everything in life. Lastly, Whitman, most of all, celebrates universal brotherhood and democracy.
Walt Whitman used free verse in “Song of Myself” in order to connect with the common man and his American readers. In this first person narrative, Whitman deconstructs the “self” into many different sections that all are a part of the celebration of the individual. Some of the topics he breaks the “self” into are self- identity, and human exploration (including the human body and sexuality). In the poem, Whitman uses a speaker to exclaim that for individuals to grow they must discover themselves spiritually, physically, and mentally. The speaker in the poem