Walt Whitman's Use Of Literal Poetry Essay

Poetry as a literally work in which the expression of ideas and feelings is given strength has had great authors overtime who took different perspectives in this genre of literature. These poets used distinctive rhythm and style to express their styles, poetic themes, outlook on life, and had their share of influence on the American society. This paper uses the basis of these styles, themes, outlook on life and subsequent influence on the American society to compare three prolific poets who ventured into this literature genre: Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Maya Angelou. Robert Frost (1874-1963) holds a unique and almost sole position in the career span which mostly encompasses

For as long as it can be remembered people have used multiple forms of literature in order to gain knowledge, entertain, and even express a certain idea. Poetry is in fact one of those forms of literature, and before people began to write it, it was known to be told verbally by many. A person would tell a tale and those who listened would memorize it, what eventually caused poetry to spread around. Still to this day, many come to fall in love with the magic poetry possesses. It is the writer’s decision to either have a specific rhythm to it or just have a simple list of words. This essay argues that poetry is a creative way of expressing one's emotions and that it should be, not only preserved, but celebrated, even by those who have not considered themselves poetry fans in the past.

On this verse, we can see how Whitman tries to connect to mind, body, spirit and nature. In “Song of Myself” Whitman attempted to change the meaning of American poetry. I described identity issues that pertain to him, but that the audience was able to identify with. Whitman, opened the door to

The ideal role of the narrator of Song of Myself is outlined in section 11. As the woman watches the 28 nude men from her window, she remains physically within her own home, but mentally escapes outside of it to engage with the group of men, as her “unseen hand also pass 'd over their bodies, It descended tremblingly from their temples and ribs” (212-213). She feels empowered by her invisibility to touch the men, but does so timidly, scared by the force of the reality of her imaginings. The erotic nature of the scene is also meaningful, as sex is often seen as a means of transcending the individual by the physical and emotional unification of two bodies. Whitman attempts to replicate the role of the woman in his position as narrator by imaginatively engaging in a scene, often within another body, but not interfering with the reality of the moment.

The time of Romanticism brought upon many trends extending from the idea of individualism as a rebellious separation from the classics, an idealistic outlook and finally to a strong religious base. Most of the writers of the Romantic period followed Pantheism "God is everything and everything is God ... the world is either identical with God or in some way a self-expression of his nature" (Owen 1971: 74). The idea of Pantheism was that everything in the world worked in unity. In some of the works of the Romantic period the expression of nature and humans are not separate entities, but one in the same. Even though in reality it did not work this way Pantheism was the ideal of most these writers and idealism in itself was yet another trend

Both Whitman and Dickinson were legendary in the branch of poetry, making their marks by writing plenty of poems, concentrating on important themes such as the developing America/independence, and creating beautiful works of art by exceeding the norms of Iambic Pentameter in conventional poetry. These poets exercised great influence among the coming generations of poets, while also exemplifying their traditional uses of poetic devices. But an important aspect that distinguished the uniqueness of both poets was the tone that was exemplified in their works. As a result, Dickinson and Whitman’s poems incorporated a plethora of symbolic messages that supported their tone and mood of not only their writing, but also what influenced them in

Unlike other forms of literature, poetry can be so complex that everyone who reads it may see something different. Two poets who are world renowned for their ability to transform reader’s perceptions with the mere use of words, are TS Eliot and Walt Whitman. “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot, tells the story of a man who is in love and contemplating confessing his emotions, but his debilitating fear of rejection stops him from going through with it. This poem skews the reader’s expectations of a love song and takes a critical perspective of love while showing all the damaging emotions that come with it. “Song of myself”, by Walt Whitman provokes a different emotion, one of joy and self-discovery. This poem focuses more on the soul and how it relates to the body. “Song of myself” and “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” both explore the common theme of how the different perceptions of the soul and body can affect the way the speaker views themselves, others, and the world around them.

“I celebrate myself.” Walt Whitman’s introduction into Song of Myself sets a distinctive tone for his writing. Whitman influenced America in many ways and the driving forces of his influence are disguised within the complexities of his writing. Whitman’s’ desire was for humans, and specifically Americans, to be in harmony with the universe, with themselves as individuals, and with each other as a nation; Whitman used his poetry to encourage this belief amongst his fellow man. Encompassed in the themes in Song of Myself, Whitman impel his influence into the hearts and minds of the American people and the world. At times latent and at other times obvious, Whitman uses individualism and democracy,

Walt Whitman’s poetry is sometimes seen as a continuation of other historical works; he is simply one in a long line of people sharing the same ideas of homosexuality but conveying them at different times.

During the time period that Walter Whitman lived, there were many controversial things happening to the American people as a whole. One of the most strenuous upon society at the time was the Civil War. The Civil War created many problems in the lives of most Americans during this time period. This war also prompted, and inspired Walt to create many of his historical works of art. The war was raging in both the north and the south during Whitman's golden era of his writing. In the North, the economy was blooming, and growing, and industry was getting better and better each day. While in the South, the price, and the labor of the war was taking its effect upon society. The economy was getting worse, and worse as time went on. The problems

Walt Whitman is considered one of the most important writers in the history of American Literature. The people of his own time called him a radical, a madman, and a pornographer. These days he is greatly appreciated and entitled as a fearless prophet of a new stage of human development. Sometimes Whitman would be in a slump and he felt that he needed to deflect the people who inquired too directly. This even meant using examples of homosexual elements in his work, as well as unbelievable stories of him having affairs with numerous women and fathering many children, unknown to him. Throughout these sorts of times W. Whitman has gone through both resentment and flattery, nevertheless showing us

Walt Whitman was a revolutionary poet who let his emotions run free through his poetry. Whitman was never afraid to express himself no matter how inappropriate or offensive his emotions might have seemed at the time. This is why Whitman's poem still echo that same sentiment and emotion today almost as loudly as when the drums were first tapped.

Now I intend to turn my attention to concrete examples from Walt Whitman's poetry to provide some evidence of that sexuality played an important role in his poetry, and there are possible readings to find traces for that. Of course, we cannot only rely on selected

Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.

The dominant themes that are more pervasive in Whitman’s poetry are democracy, life/death cycles, individualism, and nature. These themes play major roles in some of his more notable poems such as “Songs of Myself” or “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” He used democracy as a theme to bring society together, and unite everyone based on their general beliefs. He depicted life and death cycles to merge society together on a spiritual level. Despite his eagerness to unite society he also embraced individualism, and is also a persistent theme in most of his poetry. Nature was an important concept that Whitman used to convince people who there were more important things to life than class structure. He used nature connect us all, and encourage people to