Walter Whitman
“I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars” (Whitman 41).
Walter Whitman, also known as Walt Whitman, was born on May 31, 1819, in Long Island, New York, to Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. When he was twelve, Walt and his family settled in Brooklyn, up to then his family had lived in a dozen different places (Conarroe 4). Walt worked in many different positions; to some he was even viewed as a drifter. Walt was many different things; he worked as a carpenter and home builder, like his father, and apprentice printer, a school teacher, editor of several newspapers, including Brooklyn’s Daily Eagle, journalist, and writer. However, despite whatever job Walt Whitman was working as, he always wrote poems. Frequently, that even meant neglecting to go to work to be able to write poems (Wells xi). Even though most of Whitman’s life was spent in New York, he did spend some time in Louisiana as a special writer for New Orleans’s Crescent newspaper (Conarroe 4).
In May 15, 1855, two weeks and two days before his 36th birthday, Whitman published his first book Leaves of Grass (Kaplan 198). This short book contained a long preface and only twelve poems, all of which did not have any titles until Whitman named them later in the revised editions of his book. Although it is one of the most influential books of its time and teaches many important life lessons, when it was published it was met with mixed emotions. Emerson, a close friend of Whitman’s, said “I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet to tribute. . . . I greet you at that beginning of a great career” (Markham 128). However, Whitman had many tough critics in his time. James Russell Lowe...
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...o allow the doctors to perform an autopsy. However, they did it anyway, and after a three hour tedious examination they discovered that Whitman died of pulmonary emphysema; the left lung had completely collapsed, and the right lung had minimal functional ability to it (Kaplan 53). His funeral was held on March 30th. People who knew Walt swarmed to his house to pay their respect. Whitman’s body now rests at Harleigh Cemetery, inside a mausoleum he built. With him are his mother, father, Eddy and George Whitman, Hannah, and their infant son.
Whitman believed that his words and their meanings would live on, for they came from his soul. He wrote, “I swear I see now that everything has an eternal soul” (Whitman 104). Walt Whitman may be gone, but his words will live on because he told us when he wrote, “I swear I think there is nothing but immortality” (Whitman 104).
Walt Whitman is known for his excellence in writing and poetry during the mid 19th century in American Literature. The Leaves of Grass is one of his more memorable works of literature. The work expresses many thoughts and opinions about art, nature, and early nationalism. It also includes a multitude messages for the readers in an attempt to capture the reader and reinforce his points.Within the Preface of the work he talks about issues that he feels are important to inform his audience before they continue into the literature. These observations made by Whitman signify some importance to him in one way or another. Using his rhetorical skills, Walt Whitman attempts to educate his audience about the importance of self improvement and self awareness
Walt Whitman’s early life and childhood had an impact on his works of poetry later in his life. Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, New York. His parents were Walter and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. At the age of four, Whitman and his family moved to Brooklyn, living in a series of different houses due to bad investments by his parents. Whitman later viewed his childhood as sad and unhappy, because his family frequently moved and they were in a poor financial situation. Throughout most of his childhood, Whitman and his family were in constant financial duress. At the age of eleven, Whitman finished his formal education and started to look for a job. Whitman finished school at such a young age, so he could get a job
Walt Whitman's seventh poem in his work, Leaves of Grass, displays the subtlety with which the poet is able to manipulate the reader's emotions. In this poem there are no particular emotional images, but the overall image painted by word choice and use of sounds is quite profound. This poem, like many others written by Walt Whitman, is somewhat somber in mood, but not morose. It is serious, but not to the point of gloom. Whitman writes concerning the general idea that everything is merged together and is one. One cannot die without being born, just as one cannot be a mother without first having one. The purpose of the poem is to show those things that are real are true and holy, and even more importantly unified. In this poem he is speaking as some sort of omnipotent being, perhaps God or a soul.
American poet, Walt Whitman explores the connection between the concept of the nation and the poet as a means of further establishing the national identity of the United States of America. The preface to his collection of poetry, entitled Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855 merely 79 years after the United States was founded acts as a reinforcement of nationalist sensibilities that work to define what the American is on a internal and international scale. Within this text Whitman creates an inventory of the attributes that are defining of the poet as an individual, emphasizing the positive qualities as being linked to their vocation. Described as being equal to the average citizen, the poet is a symbol of the American, reinforcing the
Poems by Walt Whitman and Hanshan feature strong enlightenment ideals and prevalent references to nature as a way to achieve these ideals. Though the two men lived in very different times, their works carry similar messages. Following the path to enlightenment generally refers to the Buddhist Eightfold Path, though it has been adapted over time to refer to the state of understanding a person reaches, both of oneself and his or her surroundings, as well as of that beyond what can be sensed. Relying solely on one’s talents and denying society and worldly possessions are typically seen as characteristics of an enlightened person, as seen in the writings of both Whitman and Hanshan.
Walt Whitman will forever live in the minds of individuals as one of America’s greatest poets. People in America and all over the world continue to read and treasure his poetry. He was an original thinker, contributing new modern styles to poetry. He was unafraid of controversy and uninhibited by what others may think of him. He created his own path in poetry, as he describes himself in an anonymous review of his poetry: "But there exists no book or fragment of a book which can have given the hint to them" (Whitman). His poetry was not inspired or affected by those who wrote before him; according to him, his poetry came entirely from "beautiful blood and a beautiful brain" (Whitman). His emphasis on originality, paradoxically, displays how Emerson, a fellow nonconformist, influenced him by stressing the importance of originality and the ability to think without being aided by other people’s words of wisdom. However, while Emerson influenced Whitman, Whitman also affected Emerson’s thoughts, as the two were friends who respected each other’s minds. Another member of this group of nonconformist friends is Thoreau, a fellow transcendentalist (Baym 2078).
“I Sing the Body Electric” is one of twelve poems that comprised the 1855 first edition of Walt Whitman’s self-published masterpiece, Leaves of Grass. Like other poems, especially “Song of Myself,” it is a celebration of life. It is hard to believe this classic was written during the Civil War era. A time historically riddled with slavery and injustice, of mass death and discord, as well as the expansion of industrialization, the movement out west and population growth. This 19th century classic defines an age-old problem. In brief, the human body is too often disrespected, abused, underappreciated, or taken for granted. According to Whitman, "If anything is sacred the human body is sacred," (Routledge, section 8), and “if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?” (Routledge, section 1). An analysis of “I Sing the Body Electric” assists us in recognizing our eternal state of existence and well-being; a state only conceived through a unified consciousness of the human body and soul. In it Whitman poetically expresses his appreciation and respect for the intricate, spiritual unification between the human body and the soul.
Whitman was drawn to the nations capital roughly a year after the Civil War began, at the age of forty-three. The wounding of his brother, George Washington Whitman, who served in the Union Army, precipitated his contact with the carnage of the war. Reading the notice of his brother’s injury in the New York Herald, Whitman went immediately to Falmouth, Virginia, where he found his brotherly only slightly wounded. Perpetually short-handed, Army officials asked the poet to help transport injured soldiers to field hospitals in Washington. Whitman agreed, and began a mission of mercy that would occupy him from 1862 until the war’s end in 1865 (Murray).
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "An Important American Critic Views Whitman." Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Ed. James Woodress. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983. 116-127.
While Wordsworth formatted his poetry into beautiful ballads, Whitman wrote in more relatable poems, some of which truly did not follow any form. According to William E. H. Meyer Jr., “Indeed, the very substance of Whitman 's ‘barbaric yawp,’ in contrast to Wordsworth 's ‘plaintive numbers,’ is the revolutionary and unbridgeable gap that exists between a ‘song of myself’ and a ‘prelude’ or ‘lyrical ballad.’”(Meyer 83). While Wordsworth keeps more structure and regulation in his ballads, Whitman does what feels most effective. This allows for Whitman to be slightly more organic in form than Wordsworth. However, this difference can also be seen as an addition to Wordsworth, as Wordsworth advocated for organic form. Whitman’s further use of organic form is still within the influence of Wordsworth, as it ties back to the Romantic ideals he put forth. Overall, while Whitman may have denied inspiration from Wordsworth, the evidence points in a different
His greatest work was ‘leaves of grass’, which is a collection of poems which he first self-published at the age of 37 in the year 1855. It was a free-verse that was loosely inspired by the Bible. It was at first criticized in his country for its ‘raw sexuality’ but was widely acclaimed elsewhere in Britain by prominent writers. It was an attempt by Whitman to get through to the ordinary American people by giving them their very own ‘epic’. He went on changing and adding material to this work until his death in the year 1892 in Camden, New Jersey. The poem ‘America’ is one of the late additions to the collection, written in 1888.
As Whitman, the specific individual, melts away into the abstract, “Song of Myself” explores the possibilities for communion between individuals. Whitman addresses the reader in a particularly direct manner. He integrates his reader into the poem, and is freed of the constraints of poetic principle and social etiquette. The poem presents entire body lounging on the ground, leaning and idling. Whitman deliberately conflates natural world and poetical world. “Song of Myself” goes beyond the boundaries of Transcendentalism in the relationship of the physical and spiritual, individual and universal. The self that Whitman cheerily sings and celebrates substantiates a ‘uniform hieroglyphic’: suggestive, multiform, and awash with inconsistency. “It is as much a physical presence as a projected spiritual possibility” (Jason 2). Even as it blatantly and fervently expresses Whitman’s faith in evolution (and therefore in the necessary indivisibility of self-reliance), “Song of Myself” also conveys a separation with the “self,” the poet himself, and the co...
He crossed the boundaries of the poetry literature and gave a poetry worth of our democracy that contributed to an immense variety of people, nationalities, races. Whitman’s self-published Leaves of Grass was inspired in part by his travels through the American frontier and by his admiration for Ralph Waldo Emerson (Poetry Foundation). He always believed in everyone being treated equally and bringing an end to slavery and racism. Through his poetry, Whitman tried to bring every people in America together by showing them what happiness, love, unison, and real knowledge looked. His poetry and its revolution changed the world of American literature
Walt Whitman was a man that served as a nurse helping wounded soldiers in the Civil War. While he was there, he took what he saw and wrote them in his poems. Every aspect of each poem related to the time that he was in and he wrote about every experience and feeling he had about what he saw. Whitman had three themes that he used to focus all of his poems on and these themes were individuality, democracy, and freedom. With writing with these themes, Whitman could make an impact on what the reader imagined in their head while reading and he was also able to convey a certain feeling through his poems that he wanted the reader to feel. Whitman had a unique style of writing, which was free verse. Through free verse, Whitman could direct and write a poem in a way that he liked and in a way where he was able to give more detail rather than writing in a rhythmic way. Through Walt Whitman’s themes of individuality, democracy, and freedom, Whitman was able to express his feelings about war and leaders in the poems that he wrote during the Civil War time.
The glamorization of American opportunity created a great sense of nationalism which encouraged many to embrace ideas like manifest destiny. Walt Whitman was a poet living in the nineteenth century who wrote many poems which figuratively painted a picture portraying enrichment and opportunity in America, and the greater opportunity which could be achieved through traveling west. One compilation of poems entitled Leaves of Grass, was quite influential to those living in America and abroad, catching the eye of many opportunists seeking a better future for themselves. While the stories may be different, a common theme of American nationality exists within the poetry of Walter Whitman’s Leaves of