How Did Walt Whitman Influence Poetry

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Occupation, assets, achievements- this is just a minute set of examples in regards to the vast array of characteristics everybody can be recognized for. Walt Whitman believed that this archetype of traits must be improved and built upon to acquire approving acknowledgment across ample distances. For instance, one is needed to enhance his or her own individuality and embrace one’s makeup to set a statement in the world that they exist; this impression is evident throughout Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. The Leaves of Grass collection convey his appreciation for American life and his concept of humanity that everyone must establish an imprint on the world to become noticed. Whitman, himself, is a great model of this philosophy because he is widely-known …show more content…

By innovating the free verse poetry, Whitman was able to incorporate remarkable symbolism and metaphors to “address themes that were uniquely American, celebrating in particular the life of common people in a democracy” (Harmon). From the very beginning, Walt Whitman was destined to become something great. He was born in 1819 in Long Island, New York, only comprising a small piece of his entire family of eleven. However, being the second oldest sibling, Whitman beared a large portion of responsibility in supporting his household. Therefore, when the Whitman’s moved to young Brooklyn in 1823, Walt’s attendance at public school was briefly lived and he “dropped out of school at age eleven” (Walt Whitman 1819-1892). Shortly after leaving his education, Whitman “apprenticed in turn as a law clerk and a printer” (Harmon). In fact, throughout his lifetime, “he held a series of jobs including office boy, typesetter, printer, newspaper editor, school teacher, carpenter, and journalist” (Walt Whitman 1819-1892). Despite the …show more content…

For example, this poem corresponds to the symbolism in “A Noiseless, Patient Spider” where Whitman is just a bystander while he contemplates the endless world around him. He repeats “I see” (5), “I observe” (13), and “I hear” (3) to accent that he watches the world, but receives no response in return. Furthermore, he is aware that conflict is one of the sole culprits that affects everyone’s lives which summons “meanness and agony without end” (17), alike the message in “Beat! Beat! Drums!” Finally, on the contrary of Whitman addressing that the method to having a great city is to see the goodness in people, he describes the characteristics of a dreaded one through the “anguish” (3), the “tyranny” (11), the “jealousy” (9). Thus, Whitman expresses his appreciation of America and democracy by defining similar components of an ideal world and the

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