Whitman's Interpretation of Emerson

Comparing Walt Whitman and Ralph Emerson Walt Whitman is Jay Leno and Ralph Emerson is Ed Hall. Walt takes the instructions announced by Emerson and runs gallantly with them making beautiful and insightful poetry. Walt Whitman and Ralph Emerson spoke out in an age where society was not ready for such dramatic writers. Whitman uses several of Emerson's topics and styles to be that good poet. Whitman elaborates on the characteristics of a poet, freedom, children, and animals.

Whitman, optimistic with the new changes in American literature, set out to answer Emerson and embarked on a journey of becoming a very unique and great American poet (“Author Profile.”). Whitman experimented constantly with his editions of Leaves of Grass. Although the more blatantly obvious changes included his design through binding, paper size, and font style, the more thought provoking changes occurred overtime through revision. Upon completing, he sent out numerous review copies of his first edition receiving a notable response from Ralph Waldo Emerson welcoming him, “at the beginning of a greet career.” (Baym 22). Besides Emerson’s quick, uplifting response it was considere... ... middle of paper ... ...ge in poetic style was difficult for his contemporaries to overcome, especially deriving from Whitman himself.

Identities and Transcendentalism in Song of Myself While reading through the poem Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, what comes to your mind? His deep love for nature? The use of symbolism throughout the poem? Whitman’s questionable homoeroticism that seeps its way throughout the lines? What came to the forefront of mind when reading this poem by Whitman was his deliberately obvious theme of individuality while also maintaining a universal identity.

For Whitman, in certain ways, American culture became a language experiment. His fascination in culture was grounded in what various activities were doing to the language. Whitman was interested in how they were giving America new words, and new ranges of self-expression (E.H. Miller 174-178). It was through continually expanding dictionaries that Walt Whitman learned about the possibilities of an infinite language from which a new kind of poetics could emerge. When writers mention Walt Whitman’s name, the subje... ... middle of paper ... ...n in a full and complete life (Loewen 38).

And that is what Walt Whitman and William Carlos Williams do, as well as writing what their audience knows. In other words, both establish a relationship with their readers by appealing to a sense of the familiar and ordinary, "that life becomes actual only when it is identified with ourselves". Whitman uses imagery that acts as examples of American culture, a framework in which Americans can identify. Williams uses simple images of simple things, and a natural rhythm that seem to directly reflect his own thought processes, that of a modern American. The techniques of both authors create a distinctive poetic persona.

In conclusion, metaphysical poet John Donne has broadened the horizons of philosophy within English literature. We grasp his intellectual poetry and appreciate the dramatic sincerity that comes along with it. Both these poems take on unrealistic challenges that can only be constructed in the mind. These poems are an escape from reality to a place of no limitations and unpredictability. Readers do not necessarily engage critically, but rather insightfully.

While exacting viewpoint concerning nature varied considerably--nature as a healing power, nature as a foundation of subject and image, nature as a sanctuary from the artificial constructs of civilization, including artificial language--the customary views accorded nature the status of an organically unified whole. At the same time, Romantics gave larger consideration both to recounting natural phenomena precisely and to incarcerate ‘sensuous nuance’--and this is as accurate of Romantic landscape painting as of Romantic nature poetry. Precision of observation, however, was not sought for its own sake. Romantic nature poetry is fundamentally, poetry of rumination. On analysis of the different works of the Romantic Poets one realizes that, while Nature is a common element found in all the writers' works, it is symbolized in fairly different ways.

Poetry, he believed is the material record for inspiration, "creates anew the universe after it has been annihilated in our minds by the recurrence of impressions blunted by reiteration." It was this revolutionary streak which enabled Shelley to reveal how, through the figure of a poet and all that he resembles he was able to portray the way in which a poet can use the process of poetry to perceive time, nature, civilization and literature, which eternally reveals, transforms and influences human thought and conceptions.

He used great similies and metaphors to pinpoint his beliefs. Also, his frequent use of cataloging, parallelism, and free verse contributed to his beliefs. Whitman was a great writer who brought up his own way of writing poetry. His poems were all original. Whitman was not a follower of transcendentalism, I believe he was the leader.

23 March 2002. < http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html> Nord, Tom. "Blogs Share People's Stories". Gannett News Service. 9 April 2001.