How Did Walt Whitman Impact Society

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

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

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