Research Paper On Walt Whitman

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.

Walt Whitman uses his poems to demonstrate gender equality by addressing the male and female forms as equals. After describing himself as a universal poet, of both “the woman the same as the man.” Whitman says that it is, “As great to be a woman as it is to be a man”(Whitman 24). During his lifetime, women were viewed as inferior to men; they did not have voting rights, and “contained fewer multitudes economically, intellectually, and psychologically” (Pollak 108). Whitman, on the contrary, expresses his respect for women as equals to men, and does not view one above the other. He, unlike other poets of the time, he shines a positive light on women and glorifies their strength and power.

The basic structure of both poems follow an informal pattern as the poems do not rhyme; nevertheless, the structure of both poems are not the same. Whitman’s poem is unique because it is written all in one stanza with twelve lines. A unique aspect of this poem is how in the middle of the poem Whitman makes a list of people who

We are able to see this when Whitman says “The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands”(Whitman, 5-7). That quote shows how the people like doing there job. But in the poem “I, Too” it talks about racism and how he is going to overcome it, we can see this when Hughes states “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed(15-17)” this shows that he doesn 't care about what they think about him because he know that he is beautiful. This shows how the two poems are different by how they both have different stories and meanings behind the writing. They are different stories because the two talk about two different things like in “I Hear America Singing,” Whitman talks about how everyone loves what they do and want to sing because of it while in the poem “I, Too,” Hughes writes about racism and how he can overcome it, which shows how different the two poems

Walt Whitman was an American poet and journalist born on May 31, 1819. Whitman was influenced by transcendentalism, which was an idea emphasizing that to understand nature, one must analyze the reasoning or process behind it. Whitman had done many writings throughout his life that had been inspirations for other poets. For example, in the spring of 1855, Whitman published “Leaves of Grass”, which was a collection of twelve unnamed poems. This writing was enticed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who thought that the collection of poems were “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom.” Many people throughout the century noticed the ideologies that Whitman portrayed in his writings, and it is still evident today. In “Fahrenheit 451”, Ray Bradbury

Walter Whitman was an American writer during the nineteenth century. Primarily, he was known for his practical poetry and down to earth style. In his work, he displayed both realistic and philosophical views. His works, are mainly drawn from both the love of his county and his theistic world view. Whitman was greatly influential to American literature and writings.

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.

Both poets are very similar to each other in a way that both of them lived in the nineteenth century. "The two giants of 19th-century American poetry who played the greatest role in redefining modern verse are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (Burt)". Both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are considered as the founders of today’s modern American poetry, whose they put the keystone, and which was further developed by other poets over the years. The poetry has been redefined. The modern poetry becomes more discreet which uses the topics of everyday life. However, both of them were two different personalities from a completely distinctive society because Emily Dickinson came from a conservative and strict family. Therefore, she is withdrawn, and on the other hand, a controversial personality because she dealt with the modern poetry. For that reason, her contradictory feelings often fight a battle with each other in her poems. Walt Whitman came from a simple civilian family, whose parents were very hardworking people who had big national values, thus according to his revolutionary and national ideology Walt Whitman fits into the modern American poetry. Nevertheless, the ideas of two poets are similar at a certain point because in their poems both of them

Walt Whitman captures his audience’s attention with his realism poetry and free verse poetry throughout much of his life as a poet. Whitman was a man of the civil war era and in his poem “The Wound-Dresser” shows his life experiences in the war come full force in the way he conveys his contribution in the civil war. His view of the war as a wound-dresser and he describes some of the most horrendous scenes imaginable from the eyes of an everyday man. His poem “The Wound-Dresser” doesn’t show the war from a distance, but from right on the battlefield in its unedited version as written by Whitman. The way Whitman conveys his poems of the everyday man’s life in his time-period is presented by utilizing his realism style to connect to the audience and his gruesomely descriptive vocabulary.

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.

“Solitary the thrush, the hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements, sings by himself a song,” (Lilacs, stanza 4, line 3-5). The author creates an image of being in solitude usually occur when someone purposely wants to be left alone, or at times when it is unintentional. Throughout Whitman’s poems, a different tone is depicted, but in some, they share the similarity in tone. Walt Whitman uses the symbolism of nature to depict his loneliness.

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.

It is common for a person to admire the stars in the sky. Their brightness and arrangement is a fascinating sight, of course. On the other hand, people tend to forget or plainly ignore what is right under their feet. In “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman focused on what he thought was truly important, details of the green grass. Whitman wrote, “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars” (663). This explains how he believed that the stars and the grass should be thought of as equal and man should show appreciation for grass as well. Moreover, Whitman implies that because the grass is so close in terms of touch, humans should enjoy it more since stars are completely out of reach. As it is evident that Whitman appreciates

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.

In Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself’, one can appreciate the poem properly by understanding the poem’s voice, imagery, figures of speech, symbols, word choice, and theme. To understand it though requires a great deal of thought to arrive to the meaning behind the writing. Especially since this poem was written in the nineteenth century and is written in a very loose structure and free verse.