Comparing Emily Dickinson And Walt Whitman's Poetry

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Throughout the critically acclaimed poems by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, a vast difference in both their styles and viewpoints is displayed. In the beginning of Dickinson’s poem in the first stanza, “I heard a fly buzz when I died,” one can perceive that Dickinson is not an ordinary poet. Her opinion of death is quite different than Whitman’s and many of her peers at the time. Emily Dickinson’s internal viewpoint expressed in her poetry defines her style and perception on life. On the other hand, Whitman’s viewpoint is the polar opposite because he expresses an external viewpoint. Whitman is more concerned with the creation of the universe and how we came from the physical world and will eventually return to the dirt. Lastly, Whitman describes himself as being a poet who is more concerned with the physical parts of the body rather than with the intellectual ones like Dickinson. After further analysis, one can conclude that by looking at aspects of their unique styles that Dickinson’s and Whitman’s views on death are completely divergent.
Dickinson’s perspective on death is a main …show more content…

Although this poem does not relate to death or any other of his poems in any way, it adds to Whitman’s unique style point of view. Basically this poem is about the American spirit/Patriotism in all forms from the people of his society based upon his perspective. An example that proves this viewpoint is when he writes “Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, /The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,/The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work” (Whitman 3-4). This quote represents the American patriotism that he is trying to display in his poem. Lastly, the poem is also trying to convey the message of the American dream by showing how the people of this country are happy and patriotic about what they are