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How Did Walt Whitman Impact Society

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Walt Whitman had a profound impact on American Literature in the 19th Century. Throughout his works he identified himself with the American people while writing about larger political and social realities dominant in America during that time. His unconventional writing style and subject matter left nothing to the imagination (Bloom). Whitman was born into a working-class Quaker family who lived in Long Island and Brooklyn in the 1820s and 1830s. He was the 2nd of 8 surviving children. His father Walter Whitman Sr. was a deeply patriotic famer and house builder that was dedicated to supporting the principles of the American Revolution. His devotion showed in the names he chose for his sons as well as through his ties with American revolutionist …show more content…

The following year he self-published the first edition of Leaves of Grass. From 1855 to 1892 a total of 9 editions were published. Leaves of Grass is the compiled works of Whitman which emphasized the individual self within America. He exemplifies American Literature through Leaves of Grass because he wanted to praise the diversity, life, and love of each American. He celebrates life by using nature and natural themes to speak to the reader and capture the true essence of what America is by cataloging the everyday person (Wayne). “To the States,” an excerpt from the Inscriptions section of Leaves of Grass, included here, is an appeal from Whitman to the American people, to the states, and to the nation. He wrote “To the States or any one of them, or any city of the States, Resist much, obey little.” (Line 1) He throws caution to unquestioning obedience and the lost freedoms that will follow if the they blindly let slavery engulf the diversity within …show more content…

Stemming from his time as a nurse, Drum Taps and Sequel to Drum Taps were written. In the books, he grasps the notion of American Literature through the themes of democracy and patriotism. The works account for a collection of experiences during the American Civil War which speak to the reader as if Whitman was on the battle field himself. “Song of the Banner at Daybreak,” excerpted here, tells from a conversational standpoint the argument war poses and the need to defend the nations ideals. He wrote, “I’ll pour the verse with streams of blood, full of volition, full of joy.” (Line 3) The Poet is describing the desires of both father and child that are being held together by the blood and death of those who are killed on the battle

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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177 Words | 1 Pages

In “I Hear America Singing, and Let America be America again,”Langston Huges,and walt whitman are two brilliant America’s poets recognize America’s greatness and success, but have different perspectives. Langston Huges and Walt Whitman are Similar in topic and technique in their poems. These poets both talk America and a achieving the American dream. Both poets use a list to represent individuals who contribute to America’s success. Huges would have use some of Whitman technique because Whitman is a older writer than Huges.

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The speaker of Whitman’s poem demands that the drums and bugles “burst like a ruthless force, / Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,” and play “Over the traffic of cities.” This contrasts the third stanza where he requests that “even the trestles shake the dead where they lie awaiting the hearses, / So strong you thump O terrible drums--so loud you bugles blow.” The first two stanzas express the side of Whitman that knows war is necessary while the final stanza conveys how war is extremely disruptive and will bring life to a halt. He wants the Civil War to stop everything and cause chaos for the ultimate good, but realizes that there will be a great deal of death and destruction. Writing about the third stanza, Oliver determines, “the poet is now sarcastic, urging the drums and bugles to cover the sounds of men dying.”

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283 Words | 2 Pages

1 Walt Whitman is one of America’s foremost authors. As a man of letters, his works span severalliterary forms. Modernity remembers him most for his poetry. This essay will analyse one of hispoems, I Hear America Singing. The poem is written in 1860; a time when America was considered a fledgling nation by herbrothers and sisters in Europe.

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They had a lot of disagreement in their family, though no one knew it because they were a rich popular family (Bankston, 2007). Margaret and Charles Whitman were the parents of Charles Whitman (Bankston, 2007). He was brought up Roman Catholic and was born in Florida, in the city of Lake Worth (Bankston, 2007). Charles Whitman and his mother were verbally and physically mistreated by his dad (Bankston, 2007). Despite this, Charles Whitman became an Eagle Scout after demonstrating remarkable IQ at the age of 12 in elementary school (Bankston, 2007).

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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.

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An iconic figure in the history of American literature, Walt Whitman was born on the 31st May 1819. Today his contribution and works in the poetic world have come to define sentimentalism, ambitions and some key experiences that Americans underwent in the 19th century. Even though he may have been politically inactive, his work had the will to display political views. Having survived through the civil war, he grew much affectionate perception on the nature and complexity of American polity. Whitman’s view of America was that of a culturally diverse society that we currently witness as such this vision was mainly expressed in his poetic works.

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Do the people of this generation realize they’re living in this world at a time when obesity and overweight individuals are increasingly disparaged? Obesity is roughly generated by consuming too much food, particularly fat and sugars, and the lack of movement. The 1970’s were abundant with young adults with healthy bodies, due to a better understanding of the food being consumed. In the past, it was normal to have a home cooked meal three times a day as to now it is “normal” to by a fast food restaurant. This way the society is finding it faster, easier, and cheaper not knowing that this is will follow them in the future.

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Walt Whitman wrote this poem soon after the death of President Abraham Lincoln. This poem is considered an elegy, which is a poem of deep reflection, “a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead” (Merriam-Webster). In his 1856 political tract, The Eighteenth Presidency!, Whitman expressed disgust with the rampantly corrupt American political landscape and called for a “Redeemer President of These States,” who would come out of “the real West, the log hut, the clearing, the woods, the prairie, the hillside” (Reynolds). Lincoln was exactly who Whitman was looking for. Whitman spent most of the Civil War in Washington, D.C.

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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

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This poem was written with clear and distinct points of view involving a conflict and resolution. American Literature emerged into a different theme before the end of World War II due to the major changes happening in the south. This movement birthed two extraordinary writers, William Faulkner and Zora Neale Hurston that spoke of the south

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The political views that Walt Whitman seem to have was that every matter in relation with politics, had to be in the hand with democracy. He was an ardent believer of democracy, saw it this way because he thought it was a way of experiencing the world. Even though he doesn’t talk much about politics in his poems, the most implicit ideas have to deal with democracy. "Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic… Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I receive them the same.

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1125 Words | 5 Pages

In this grand poem, Whitman glorifies the unity of all people and life. He embraces the geographical diversity as well as the diversity of culture, work, as well as sexuality or beliefs. Whitman’s influence sets American dreams of freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment, and changes them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman appreciates hard work as well as being simple and non-egotistical. His major ideas are things such as soul, good health, as well as the love of nature.

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