Diction In Walt Whitman's Poetry

To “pass on” to “die” or to “reincarnate” is not only a prevalent part of our society, but an important subject that we all must address. When someone dies, most often we journey through and emotional upheaval. Authors use death to show character development in literary works. Diction and Syntax will be examined through two sources. The first source is an excerpt from the book by Mark Twain entitled “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. The second source is a poem by Sylvia Plath entitled “I am Vertical”. Both sources provide scenarios in which death is a key emotional factor. Through diction and syntax, the works of Mark Twain and Sylvia Plath reveal that the concept of death is a way to portray character development and a realization that

Nineteenth century poet Walt Whitman lived and wrote in a fascinating time period and changed the literary world, all while experiencing a unique American war first hand. A humanitarian as well as a writer, Whitman volunteered as a nurse during the Civil War where he experienced the horrors of mortality, yet felt spiritually content afterwards as well. His frequent interactions with the wounded and sick would further alter his poetry and life, in a way where he would be able to cope with his time spent among the battle. Traumatized by the aftermath of the brutal war, Whitman used his writing as a reflection of his mind and life as his involvement in both the depravity and nobility of human existence absorbed into every aspect of his spirit.

Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are two of the most creative writers of American Literature. However, their experience and composing styles were very diverse, both Dickinson and Whitman tested and acknowledged types of composing and are viewed today as critical artists.

Whitman and Dickinson share the theme of death in their work, while Whitman decides to speak of death in a more realistic point of view, Dickinson speaks of the theme in a more conceptual one. In Whitman’s poems, he likes to have a more empathic view of individuals and their ways of living. For example, in Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, the poet talks about not just of himself, but all human beings, and of how mankind works into the world and the life of it. Even though the poem mostly talks about life and the happiness of it, Whitman describes also that life itself has its ending, and that is the theme of death. For Dickinson, she is the complete opposite of happiness. Throughout her poem, “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –,” the speaker of the poem is dying in her deathbed surrounded by loved ones, and how she is experiencing a memory of death and how she is enduring it. As the people at the deathbed are “gathering firm” around her, they are in an understanding that she will die and are waiting for her demised (Dickinson). The “eyes” of the beloved ones were flowing of tears and crying to the dying loved one of the deathbed (Dickinson). Throughout Dickinson’s poem, no happiness is brought upon inside the poem because all that the author sees the theme of death as sadness and

By doing this Whitman introduces himself and at the same time identifies with the reader. He also states that he should be celebrated not only by himself, but also by the reader because they are the same. He also gives off a feeling that his writing is true and good, we get the feeling he is one of us and at the same time a poet. This leads to comparing Whitman with a preacher or public speaker of some sort, he wishes to be

Walt Whitman is one of nine children, he grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and Long Island and was faced with many different aspects of society. Growing up he had a great fascination of the atmosphere of Brooklyn which led him to journalism at the age of twenty. In 1855 Walt Whitman self-published a collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass which was expanded and revised through many editions until the ninth “deathbed” edition which was published in 1892. His brother was wounded in Fredericksburg Virginia, shortly after Walt Whitman traveled to see him. Once he saw the aftermath he was compelled to work as a nurse in Washington, D.C. as a volunteer nurse, in this time he wrote many more poems. On March 26,1892 he passed away from pleurisy, his funeral drew thousands and his casket could not even be seen do to the amount of wreaths on it.

Many people go through horrors in their life. However, most don’t record them in the way Poe did. From a young age Poe experienced death in his family. As Poe lived his life, he started using his feelings and life experiences in his work. He based his feelings in his poems such as Annabel Lee and Alone. He used his life experiences in his works such as The Masque of the Red Death and The Black Cat. Though Poe had a few other works such as The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven; they did not portray much of his life experiences and feelings like these ones did. Poe’s themes of death, insanity, and emotion through eyes in his works reflect the actual themes in his life.

In the poem “Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson, death is described as a person, and the narrator is communicating her journey with death in the afterlife.

Walt Whitman lived a life full of change. He often wrote about it through his poems during the Civil war era about how he opposed slavery and would like them to be free, and a huge inspiration for his poems was Abe Lincoln and the idea of reuniting the South with the North again and also how he helped the wounded soldiers at a hospital in the Union Capital in The United States.

“The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world” was a statement by Edgar Allan Poe. It is a very strong statement, for death, in the non-literary world, is not typically associated with anything poetical. In fact, many would argue that death is the opposite of poetical. If poetical means, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “having an imaginative or sensitive emotional style of expression”, then it can be said that death is unpoetical. Death is the end of one’s emotions, and in non-literal terms, death can be the lack of emotions.

One way that Whitman conveys his poetry is through the eyes of the everyday man. In this period of American history, the civil war was ongoing, and his poetry did not shy away from the everyday

In this grand poem, Whitman glorifies the unity of all people and life. He embraces the geographical diversity as well as the diversity of culture, work, as well as sexuality or beliefs. Whitman’s influence sets American dreams of freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment, and changes them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman appreciates hard work as well as being simple and non-egotistical. His major ideas are things such as soul, good health, as well as the love of nature. Whitman 's idea of equality is so strong that he even devotes the very first lines of Song of Myself to it. He

Carl Sandburg, a novelist and poet, emphasizes ideas such as love, death, and many other themes in most of his works. He has complied many poems and novels throughout his career and many of his poems have been published in A Magazine of Verse (PBS). Overtime, the American people grew very fond of Sandburg, and he was commemorated as the “Poet of the People” in the United States. In “Cool Tombs”, Sandburg uses rousing diction and imagery to depict death as peaceful and restful, rather than frightening and terminal.

Whitman brings light to death. He not only encourages those to embrace death, but to not shy away from it. Bringing individuals face-to-face with reality is where Whitman excelled, his writings were vividly personal, and left nothing to the imagination. Whitman truly inspired those of his time period to face life realities as they

“Different Authors write different ways, have different relationships with their audiences, and those are all legitimate”(John Green).Authors Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman who lived and expressed Themselves through Poetry and Writing during the realism era, convey different style characteristics, write in very different ways and connect to their audiences through very different ways. Both authors have very contrasting writing, although both differences and similarities are discovered by such characteristics. The writing of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman shows many similarities and many differences through their backgrounds and themes, and the way both aspects affect their writing.