The Importance Of Grass In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

Romanticism was a movement in the 18th century that was a response to the Enlightenment, which was the movement that stated that everything should be based on facts and reason. Romanticism stated that feelings and emotions are just as important as reason and logic in understanding everything in the world (Romanticism Movement, n.d.). Romanticism strongly affected the writings of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson and can be seen in the poems “A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim” (Whitman, 1867), “O Me! O Life!” (Whitman, 1867), and “Tell all the truth but tell it Slant” (Dickinson, n.d.).

*In short it’s how an author defines religion, nature, evil, etc. It’s their way of writing

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.

flower people I had ever met.” He found himself at one of his lowest points in this

Among numerous other poets, Walt Whitman is unquestionably the greatest supporter of democracy. Of course, many of English romantic poets were faithful adherents of democracy. However, Whitman’s vision of democracy was much more vivid and realistic. It can be stated that he was a systematic follower of political realities. He denounced all prerogatives and vested interest and reflected complete harmony between the individual and society. Walter Whitman was transcendentalist who believed in individual freedom and democracy and it definitely affected his poetry which is mainly focused on the ideas of democracy, equality, and brotherhood. For instance, in the poem Song of Myself, Whitman puts an emphasis on equality of all men and women. To him, all individuals are equal and all professions are equally honorable. In his interpretation, Whitman states that the freedom which is offered by democracy is for all should include all people, and not renounce those of other races, whether any social standings. This essay will focus on the main ideas presented in Whitman 's vision of equality in democracy in his Song of Myself.

Whitman revised his book, Leaves of Grass nine times from 1855 to 1891. Originally containing nine editions, it grew into about 400 in the span of thirty-six years. Because of his obsession over his work, it is evident that he was a perfectionist and too proud to forget about his original submissions. Therefore, he continued to revise them as his skills progressed. It was no secret that Whitman saw the world differently than others, admiring little details and showing appreciation towards things any other person would not think twice about. Whitman may have chosen to add to his previous book instead of producing new collections because it would hold more value all together. Each poem became his very own “blade of grass;” each addition added

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in Long Island, New York and although he had limited formal education, he went on to be a printer, reporter, teacher, newspaper editor and is celebrated as “one of America’s most important poets of the 19th century” (Academy of American Poets, 2015).

William McFeely suggests that Frederick Douglass, like Walt Whitman, has written a “Song of Myself” with his slave narrative. Both fairly known in their own time, I am going to look at how they compare and how they are different from each other. Frederick Douglass with his autobiographical slave narrative and Walt Whitman with his poem “Song of Myself”. The question becomes how Douglass creates himself through his narrative and how it compares to Whitman’s self in his poem.

Can you achieve a flowing, harmonious life without disconnecting each day’s thoughts and therefore allowing possible contradiction? Whitman and Emerson would answer no to this oxymoron type question. Both men wrote of transcendentalism, and believed that by allowing yourself to contradict with your past thoughts you will be able to grow as a man. In Emerson’s Self Reliance he explains how a man can achieve greatness by allowing contradiction within himself. His central ideals are reflected in these lines: “Speak what you think now in hard words. And to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.” (p. 24) In this section, Emerson expresses the idea “to live

Iambic tetrameter quatrains, with rhymed second and fourth lines form the bulk of Whitman’s poetry published between1838 and 1850. While the diction in the earliest poems was conventional, some later poems were experiments in blending the poetic and the vernacular. “With very little warning, then, the I855 Leaves marks an

Walt Whitman (debatably) one of the greatest poets of his age. Acknowledged for his life’s work Leaves of Grass, consisting of more than 400 poems and several editions that include the better known Song of Myself. During the year 1855, he published his first edition to Leaves of Grass making

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman emphasize the importance of living true to yourself and developing complete self-acceptance. To live true to yourself and completely accept who you are, you must understand your identity and your sense of self. In Self-Reliance, Emerson explains that your identity and your sense of self is spiritual. Whitman argues, in Song of Myself, that your identity and sense of self is based on both your soul and your body. While both Emerson and Whitman allow for intimate connections and friendships, Emerson encourages people to have relationships with a select few, whereas Whitman encourages people to connect with everyone and anyone, due to their different views of self.

Langston Hughes uses images of oppression to reveal a deeper truth about the way minorities have been treated in America. He uses his poems to bring into question some of Walt Whitman’s poems that indirectly state that all things are great, that all persons are one people in America, which Hughes claims is false because of all the racist views and oppression that people face from the people America. This oppression is then used to keep the minorities from

In the Poem “Song of Myself”, written by Walt Whitman, Whitman expresses to the audience his religious and spiritual views of the world. Coming from a more mature standpoint because of revising and already understanding his own beliefs, Whitman guides the reader and advices them on what aspects in life to hold dear and how to reach the same form of enlightenment and freedom as he has found. Specifically through nature, understanding, and equality. Similarly, the book “Dharma Bums”, written by Jack Kerouac, also expresses Kerouac’s religious and spiritual views of the world. However, unlike Whitman, Kerouac’s book is about his journey into achieving his own form of enlightenment through Buddhism and nature. Whitman’s teachings come from a more

Walt Whitman is one of the leading mystic poets of death in the field of American poetry. Death is assigned a distinguished space in his poetic universe of Leaves of Grasswhich immensely colours his vision of life. This paper is an attempt to present Whitman’s attitude towards death vis-à-vis global mystic perspective.