What is the characteristics of Walt Whitman?
1. Promotes use of free-verse— no style restrictions exist in his work; lack of rhyme and lack of strict meter; prefers to show the natural cadence and pacing of language. 2. His poems display extended lines which do not follow the standard for line length.
What kind of poet was Walt Whitman?
A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.
What makes Walt Whitman unique?
Whitman is considered the father of free-verse poetry. But he was much more than that. He introduced readers to previously forbidden topics -- sexuality, the human body and its functions -- and incorporated unusual themes, such as debris, straw and leaves, into his work.
What was Walt Whitman known as?
Called the "Bard of Democracy" and considered one of America's most influential poets, Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, New York. The second of Louisa Van Velsor's and Walter Whitman's eight surviving children, he grew up in a family of modest means.
Why is Walt Whitman a great poet?
Walt Whitman is America's world poet—a latter-day successor to Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare. In Leaves of Grass (1855, 1891-2), he celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship. This monumental work chanted praises to the body as well as to the soul, and found beauty and reassurance even in death.
What is Walt Whitman best known for?
Whitman's most well-known work, Leaves of Grass was first published in 1855 by Whitman himself.
What is Walt Whitman's writing style?
Perhaps the most obvious stylistic trait of Whitman's poetry is the long line, written in free verse. Whitman abandons, almost completely, the metrical tradition of accentual syllabic verse and embraces instead the prosody of the English Bible.
How is Walt Whitman remembered?
Walt Whitman, although best known for his work as an American poet, is also remembered for the care he gave to thousands of sick and injured soldiers in Washington, D.C., hospitals during the Civil War.
How can you describe Whitman's voice?
Whitman's poetic voice has been described as democratic, inclusive, and encompassing.
Is Walt Whitman a romantic poet?
Walt Whitman is the most important poet of the American Romantic movement. He's credited with developing a style of poetry that was distinctly American and democratic in its outlook. He wrote in simple language, so that regular folks could access his poetry easily.
Who is greatest American poet?
Initially described as obscene for its overt sexuality, Leaves of Grass was with time recognized as one of the central works of American poetry. Walt Whitman is, without a doubt, one of the most influential poets in history and many regard him as the greatest American poet ever.
What influenced Walt Whitman's writing?
Consequently, while Whitman would draw inspiration from many places, the most profound influences on him were those which offered precisely this sort of totalizing vision: religion and philosophy. The first significant religious influence on Whitman was the deism he acquired at home as a boy.
Is Walt Whitman a romantic poet?
Walt Whitman is the most important poet of the American Romantic movement. He's credited with developing a style of poetry that was distinctly American and democratic in its outlook. He wrote in simple language, so that regular folks could access his poetry easily.
What were Walt Whitman's poems about?
Leaves of GrassSong of MyselfO Captain! My Captain!I Sing the Body ElectricWhen I heard the learn'd astr...Song of the Open RoadWalt Whitman/Poems
What was Walt Whitman's primary philosophy about poetry?
Answer and Explanation: Whitman's primary philosophy concerning poetry is a a hybrid of realism (a representation of reality), verisimilitude (the appearance of what seems to be real and/or true), and American light romanticism (also known as Transcendentalism by its more common name).
What influenced Walt Whitman's writing?
Consequently, while Whitman would draw inspiration from many places, the most profound influences on him were those which offered precisely this sort of totalizing vision: religion and philosophy. The first significant religious influence on Whitman was the deism he acquired at home as a boy.
What was Walt Whitman’s early life like?
Walt Whitman spent his childhood in New York, where he was first employed at age 12 as a printer. He later held jobs as a newspaper editor and a sc...
What is Leaves of Grass?
The verse collection Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s best-known work. He revised and added to the collection throughout his life, producing ultim...
What is Walt Whitman’s legacy?
Walt Whitman’s poetry was innovative for its verse style and for the way it challenged traditional narratives. He championed the individual soul ov...
What did Whitman do in his poem?
But only a few years later, Whitman makes a dramatic shift toward fraternity, sympathy, and even empathy for slaves, which paves the way for the radical democratic equality professed in his poetry. In becoming “the wounded person,” he wrote,
What did Walt Whitman see as the Bible?
Religion. Walt Whitman saw his poetry as the bible of a new American religion, and himself as the prophet.
Why did Whitman oppose abolition?
He believed that the institution would discourage white laborers from moving west, and therefore prohibit the unbridled expansion of democracy. Interestingly, though, he opposed abolition for fear that is would mean the destruction of the union. In one novel, he even goes so far as to defend slavery. 12
What is the book of Whitman called?
Literary scholars describe Whitman’s seminal work, Leaves of Grass, as a “new American bible,” a work of scripture, and Whitman himself as a prophet. 2 Whitman writes in “Song of Myself,”
How old was Whitman when he died?
He died in 1892 at the age of 72. Whitman was born a Quaker, although he did not follow the religion as an adult. Whitman instead created his own personal spirituality through his poetry, which existed outside the Christian tradition, with himself as the centerpiece. 1.
When Whitman talks about a “Religious Democracy” in his essay “Democratic Vistas,” he?
When Whitman talks about a “Religious Democracy” in his essay “Democratic Vistas,” he’s not talking about religion in government, but rather democracy as religion. The concepts of individuality and equality–“whoever degrades another degrades me” 9 –was central to Whitman’s intense patriotism. Embracing our differences is what makes America beautiful. He wrote,
Who believed in the divinity of the leaves of grass?
This belief in the poet’s divinity was not only shared by Whitman, but by his contemporary disciples. The poet John Burroughs described Leaves of Grass as “primarily a gospel and. . . only secondarily a poem.” 4 This prophetic poetry was rooted in the transcendentalism, 5 deism, 6 democracy, 7 and Quakerism.
What line does Whitman write about the locomotive?
He makes the steam driven locomotive come to life on the page with the “ponderous side-bars, parallel and connecting rods, gyrating” (Whitman line 5) you can see the metal violently swinging back and forth.
What is the difference between Emily Dickinson's poem and Walt Whitman's poem?
Walt Whitman’s poem, “To a Locomotive in Winter” and Emily Dickinson’s “I Like to See It Lap The Miles” are two different poems about the same subject, the steam engine. Where Whitman uses solely free verse, Dickinson’s poem more closely follows standard writing practices , with very structured line breaks. Another key difference in these works is the speech they use; Whitman uses “old English” laden with thee and thy, whereas Dickinson uses fairly modern terminology. Whitman describes the elegant and powerful grandeur of the locomotive from the shining brass and steel to the twinkling of the wheels.
What line does Whitman sing "Thy trills of shrieks by rocks and hills return'd"?
Whitman even makes use of the silence of the trains’ lamps swinging in the night and even the landscape sings praises to the mighty locomotive, “Thy trills of shrieks by rocks and hills return’d” (Whitman line 23 ). Dickinson mainly focuses on the audio imagery of the locomotive struggling violently up hill “Complaining all the while” (Dickinson line 10), but she does note how it seems to look down upon the towns it passes and steps “Around a Pile of Mountains” Dickinson line 5).
What does Dickinson describe the smoke billowing from the train?
The descriptive words used by Whitman makes for striking visual and audio imagery with him describing not only how the train looks armored and cylindrical garnished in “golden brass and silvery steel” (Whitman line 4), but he also describes the smoke billowing from the train as being “tinged with delicate purple” (Whitman line 8) and the “dense murky clouds out-belching from thy smoke-stack” (Whitman line 9).
What does Dickinson mean by the train rumbling like an earthquake?
The engine’s “madly-whistled laughter, echoing, rumbling like an earthquake, rousing all” (Whitman lines 20-21) can be neither silenced nor tamed by mere mortals. Dickinson sees it as a devilish miscreant, forcing itself upon both terrain and mankind, stepping around mountains, cutting through quarries, and gazing down upon mankind. Not a care for the surroundings, she says that the train “neigh like Boanerges” (Dickinson line 14) crying out with its own deafening voice. Like the biblical disciples John and James, she sees the locomotive as loud and boisterous.
What are some traits of Walt Whitman's poetic style?
Walt Whitman's poetic style may be best described as innovative and unconventional. Whitman constructed his poems according to his own rules. His lines vary in length but are often quite long and...
What are some key themes in Walt Whitman's poetry?
I think that Whitman was something of a mystic in that he saw all of us as part of the whole; but it was the democratic whole. He saw himself as the poet that Emerson called for; Emerson saw him...
What is the main theme of the poem "I Sit and Look Out," and what is the poet trying to tell us?
The speaker in Walt Whitman's poem “I Sit and Look Out” ponders the inhumanity of human beings. He looks at the sorrow, oppression, and shame of the world, hearing the cries of remorseful young men...
Why Does Walt Whitman Use The Word Singing In The Title "i Hear America Singing"?
Another way to read the effect of the repitition of the word "singing" is as a "democratizing effect". By associating various types of people with the same musical quality, Whitman suggests that...
What is the literal interpretation and the symbolic interpretation of Walt Whitman's "After the Sea-Ship"?
The literal reading and interpretation of Walt Whitman’s “After the Sea-Ship” is a very detailed description of the impact that a sailing vessel has on the ocean. In characteristically lush and...
What is the theme of the poem "Miracles" by Walt Whitman? And how is it related to idealism and truth in life?
The theme of Walt Whitman's poem "Miracles" is that, although we usually associate the word 'miracle' with an object or event which provokes a sense of wonder, in fact, all of existence, everything...
Why is free verse an appropriate form for Whitman’s poems?
Partly, this is because of his subject matter, which is nothing less than the totality of...
What is Walt Whitman's style?
Walt Whitman 's poetic style may be best described as innovative and unconventional. Whitman constructed his poems according to his own rules. His lines vary in length but are often quite long and are composed in free verse without standard patterns of rhythm or rhyme.
What are some traits of Walt Whitman's poetic style?
Some traits of Walt Whitman's poetic style are an emphasis on the self, an emphasis on the poet as a sort of prophet, and an emphasis on freedom.
What language does Whitman use?
In terms of diction, Whitman uses all kinds of different language. He incorporates everything from foreign words to slang. He also uses words from the everyday life of America. Even terms from commerce and business are fair game for Whitman as he attempts to paint a portrait of the America of his day.
What are the symbols of Whitman's poems?
Whitman's poems are also highly symbolic. Grass, birds, the sea, and other commonplace elements become symbols of life and human experience. These symbols are not static either. Whitman uses them in many different circumstances to represent many different ideas about the natural world and the people that are part of it.
What is Whitman's most important trait?
Indeed, that is one of Whitman's most important traits: the depiction and celebration of American people and American life. He writes of individuals, the common people from all parts of America, optimistically singing of their strengths as he captures American diversity.
What is the emphasis on life as it was actually lived in America?
an emphasis on life as it was actually lived in America, and yet a concern with all humanity; a focus on reality blended with an enthusiastic mysticism
