The Opposite Writing Styles of Dickinson and Whitman
Two of the most prominent poets during the 19th century were Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Although both poets are extremely renowned for their widely known poems, they had distinctively different writing styles. Both wrote about different topics and led almost opposite lifestyles. To understand the reason behind the differences in themes of the two writer’s poems I will first compare their backgrounds and motives, then directly examine the similarities and differences in themes and ideas. Lastly, I will analyze the similarities and differences in the writing itself.
The most interesting comparison about these two authors would be their motives and backgrounds. Emily Dickinson was a
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This work shows a number of things about Dickinson's style of writing. Firstly, it is another example of Dickinson's style of structure, with a loose ABCB rhyme and iambic trimeter. Its theme is of hope which hints at a cry for help signifying further isolation and depression. The poem seems to have an audience of just herself. This could be a poem that she wrote in an attempt to cheer herself up in a time of sadness with an uplifting verse or just a poem written because of how she felt that day; either way it is clear that this poem was not designed for a large audience.
The last of the three Dickinson poems that I chose is “I had no time to hate, because”. This poem also exemplifies Dickinson’s loose iambic trimeter and her much used ABCB rhyming pattern. The theme of the poem could be argued between regret, contentment or a number of other things, but to me this poem is an effort by Dickinson to look back over her life and by happy and content with it. The theme seems to be acceptance in this poem; she is accepting what her life was. Her contentment and acceptance can be seen most clearly in the last two lines “The little toil of love, I thought, / was large enough for
...Dickinson has for the most part conquered her fears. As the second poem gave us the unsettling idea that the author of the poem we were reading was afraid to compose poetry, this poem shows us her coming to terms with that. Her list of creatures blessed with wonders they had not dared to hope for extends quite naturally to include her. She has come to her “Heaven” through poetry—“unexpected”, but eventually with confidence brought about by the trials dealt with throughout the fascicle. The poems are very closely linked, each one showing us some new aspect of Dickinson’s personality that leads toward her confidence. Finally, Dickinson has found her voice and in this final poem proclaims that she has found a peace to which she had not dared aspire at the beginning. Now she has both nature and poetry within her grasp—this is “Heaven” and “Old Home” all at once.
leave little to the imagination, Dickinson uses very few, carefully selected words, forcing the reader contemplate the meaning of the poem and create his own image of the scene being described. Another outstanding difference between these poems is the rhyme scheme and meter used. Whitman's poem contains no obvious meter or rhyme, but is written freely and without any apparent structure. Dickinson, on the other hand, uses an abcbdefe slant rhyme scheme, as well as an obvious meter.
Reading a poem by Emily Dickinson can often lead the reader to a rather introspective state. Dickinson writes at length about the drastically transformative effect a book may have upon its’ reader. Alternating between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, Dickinson masterfully uses the ballad meter to tell a story about the ecstasy brought by reading. In poem number 1587, she writes about the changes wrought upon the reader by a book and the liberty literature brings.
Although difficult and challenging, I have compared and contrasted the works of two American Poets, Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Dickinson, based on literary elements used in their writings. Their differences both in style and subject are contradictory to the fact that both Poe and Dickinson are writers/poets of the same personal nature. The use of literary elements showcase the iconic statuses of the writings created by such reserved yet fame dependent poets such as Poe and Dickinson. To an extent, their chosen elements are what create their uniqueness. Further, it establishes a uniform perception that they are similar yet different poets of the personal essence. Through their writings, readers are able to grasp the concept that they are rarely drawn to the fact their lives were perfect. Dickinson seemed to be a writer of distinct but subtle characteristics. Poe, on the other hand, was considered to be a writer filled with a dependancy on fame and fortune.
Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I” and “VIII”, are both three verses long and convey the irony and anguish of the world in different ways. By paraphrasing each of Dickinson’s poems, “I” and “VIII”, similarities and differences between the two become apparent. Putting the poem into familiar language makes it easier to comprehend.
Emily Dickinson was one of the greatest woman poets. She left us with numerous works that show us her secluded world. Like other major artists of nineteenth-century American introspection such as Emerson, Thoreau, and Melville, Dickinson makes poetic use of her vacillations between doubt and faith. The style of her first efforts was fairly conventional, but after years of practice she began to give room for experiments. Often written in the meter of hymns, her poems dealt not only with issues of death, faith and immortality, but with nature, domesticity, and the power and limits of language.
When Dickinson starts this poem, she lets you know what is going on right away. With the first line being, “Because I could not stop for Death-“ (line 1) it gives you the general summary that this poem is going to be about death. Next, she sates “He kindly stopped for me” (line 2) and to me this made me imagine that it was like they were on a date. It’s easy to relate this poem to someone going out on some sort of date. In the next couple of lines she writes “The Carriage held but Ourselves- And Immorality” (line 3, 4) and these lines made me start to think that she is okay with the idea of death. She isn’t really freaking out about it she is just riding along with death. In lines 6 and 7 she is saying that she has given up everything to be on this date with death, kind of like you do when you start dating someone. For the next stanza she is describing they scenery that they are passing through and it set the tone to be relaxing and kind of beautiful. I enjoyed reading these lines because they really do help to set an image in your head so that you can be picturing everything that is going on in this date with death. Dickinson next writes “The Dews drew quivering and Chill- For only Gossamer, my Gown -”(line 14, 15) which is implying that the person in this story wasn’t properly prepared for this date because she is getting cold in the outfit that she is wearing. Stanza 5 lets us know that she is going to die. A house has been made up in the ground, like a hole you dig for a casket. In the final couple lines of the poem Dickinson states “Since then- ‘tis Centuries- and yet Feels shorter than the Day” (line 21, 22) and after reading those two lines you realize that this memory was from a long time ago but it seems like it just happened yesterday. This lines also relate back to it being like it was just any other date that someone would have had, it might have been one of the best or worst date,
...in Louisiana a Live-oak Growing and #1510, but also between the lonely lifestyles Whitman and Dickinson led. However one characteristic does shine through in both poems. That being the attempt by both writers to hide the loneliness of their lives by saying that they are happy and have fought through the loneliness. These two works are great parallels of the writer's lives even though they may not have intended to directly relate the poems to themselves.
In both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman’s works, they emphasize some differences in their writing. In Dickinson’s works she shows that her works are short and simple poems, while Whitman’s poems and often long and complex. With Dickinson showing that her works are short and simple, while Whitman brings on a more sophisticated style, it truly shows that they use their own unique style of writing. In both Whitman and Dickinson works they have been known for being such unique artist and being original, while people try so hardly to impersonate their style, but they are unable to come close to accomplishing it. Whitman wrote in ambitious proportions, while creating a style of rhythmic structure, creating stanzas and complex lines.
The poems written by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman have numerous differences, For example, the Dickinson’s poems are simple and short while Whitman’s poems are complex and long. Though there are similarities between the writers: one of which is, that both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are considered today by many to be the founders of modern American poetry. There are other points that we can compare and contrast, so lets get started.
"Arguing with herself, Dickinson considers three major resolutions for the frustrations she is seeking to define and to resolve. Each of these resolutions is expressed in negative form: living wither her lover, dying with him, and discovering a world beyond nature. Building on this series of negations, Dickinson advances a catalogue of reasons for her covenant with despair, which are both final and insufficient. Throughout, she excoriates the social and religious authorities that impede her union, but she remains emotionally unconvinced that she has correctly identified her antagonists." (Pollack, 182)
Dickinson doesn’t have the speaker complain about dying and be trying to avoid it instead she is calm and just riding along with death. She sort of goes on a date with him and is driving around taking their time to get wherever they need to go. When you get to the end you realize that she is already dead, and that’s why she wasn’t fighting it, because she was already there. The speaker had come to terms with what had happened and was reliving the moment when it happened. As one would expect, dealing with death, it was darker than her poem about hope. This poem was really able to capture emotion of death and portray it in an easy way to
The average reader cannot help but be affected by Dickinson’s style. The capitalized words draw the reader’s attention. They highlight important key words of the poem. The dashes set apart specific words and phrases, forcing the reader to slow down while reading. The dashes compel the reader to contemplate and ponder over the lines. Thus, whether or not Dickinson had a conscious purpose in her unconventional capitalization and punctuation, they have an undeniable effect on the rhythm of the poem and the perception of the reader.
Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both think that individuality is very important to a person equally like Ralph Emerson. Although they may have a lot in common these poets are different in many ways. Both Frost and Dickinson were American poets and were both from New England. A big similarity between Frost and Dickinson both talk about death. Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both talk about the power of nature in their poetry. Frost and Dickinson have a reasonable evidence on why human beings should live life to their own agenda but, what if that person cannot stop living somebody else dreams? How can these poems help people break away for society and become a strong confidence individual person?
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are both considered as the most original poets who has boldly revolutionized the subject and style of 20th-century American poetry. Both the poets come from vastly different backgrounds but they share common inspirations but in a distinctive way. They both lived polar opposite personal lives as Walt was friendly, outgoing and influential, while Emily was very simple, shy, isolate and content. A lot of poems written by them were based on nature, death, and immortality and they focused on the importance of individualism in the society like in “I Hear America Singing” by Walt and “Much Madness is most divine Sense” by Emily. Together, they both have huge hands to shape the American poetry, and their influences