Similarities Between Dickinson And Walt Whitman

Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman could arguably be labeled as America’s greatest poets from the 19th Century. Whitman’s writing was very sensual and unconventional compared to the other writings of his time. As Whitman became famous for his poetry, he edited and revised his poetry like the various editions of Leaves of Grass. Within this book of poetry, Whitman had a lot of poems based on human relationships and occurrences. Similarly, Emily Dickinson wrote poetry based on human relationships, although her work was not published until after she died. Though her work was unconventional, it wasn’t sensual like Whitman’s. Through their writing styles and views that occur within their poetry about human relationships differ, many similarities are evident as well.

When comparing Whitman’s poem “Hours Continuing

We will forget him” (#64), is about the speaker trying to forget their loved one. The speaker tells its heart to forget about the former lover and that the speaker wants to move on and forget about this person which is seen in the lines, “... you may forget the warmth he gave- I will forget the light!...” This poem suggests that the speaker wants to be alone and without this love in their life due to the unreturned feelings. Whitman wrote a poem called “I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing,” which suggests that Whitman does not wish to be alone like Dickinson. The speaker of the poem says “...For all that, and though the live-oak glistens there in Louisiana solitary in a wide flate space, Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend a lover near, I know very well I could not.” In Whitman’s poem, the speaker makes a remark that the speaker could not live in solitary without a friend or lover such as this tree does. However, in Emily’s poem, the speaker wishes to forget the lover in their life. Though both these poems are talking about not having a lover in the speaker’s life, the poems differ in the point of view on this