In the two poems the reader can see many examples of figurative language. In the poem, “I Hear America Singing,” Whitman
Within Whitman’s poems, a dark and depressing tone can be visualized. Whitman seemingly talks sadly throughout his poems. Throughout several works by Whitman, there is rarely any happy scenes of any sort. “My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still”(O Captain, 17). Since Whitman’s poems were written based on the Civil War, it is understandable for the poems to be depressing in tone.
Both poets are very similar to each other in a way that both of them lived in the nineteenth century. "The two giants of 19th-century American poetry who played the greatest role in redefining modern verse are Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (Burt)". Both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are considered as the founders of today’s modern American poetry, whose they put the keystone, and which was further developed by other poets over the years. The poetry has been redefined. The modern poetry becomes more discreet which uses the topics of everyday life.
Whenever people talk about American literature, they have to mention Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman is one of the giants of American Literature and poetry, with Emily Dickinson. His style of writing split him away from the other poets of his time. Some even criticized the way her wrote and claimed that it was a disgrace and offends poetry. His use of free verse confused many people when they read his work.
Walt Whitman helps present the theme of positivity by using diction, figurative language, and organization throughout the poem. The speaker’s use of word choice helps reveal the meaning in “I Hear America Singing”. The speaker declared “Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.” which presents a positive tone by using optimistic words. The use of diction in this poem is used to further stretch the idea of the good things in life.
Walt Whitman is America’s poet to the world. He is seen by most people as one of the most significant poets of the 19th century. He has been published in many languages and his work is known and studied world wide. One of the first literary reviews of Whitman came from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson praised Whitman and said that Leaves of Grass was one of the most unique pieces of literature to come from America. Whitman’s poetry is written in free verse for the most part.
Walt Whitman’s poem, “Song of Myself,” encompasses the individual voice, community voice and the spiritual voice. He intertwines all three to show how essential it is for all of them to work together. Along with those voices, Whitman’s poem displays many different themes within itself. His use of those themes, along with, imagery, figurative language, setting, and symbols demonstrates how Whitman was a true example of a transcendentalist. He also shares the same ideas of the romantics.
In Walt Whitman’s poem, “I hear America Singing ,” Whitman describes how America is a working society. Whitman shows that in America has patriotism and pride for one’s country. Whitman also shows individualism. Whitman also describes how the females and males have differences. Whitman shows individualism in these quotes.
Writing about the topic of democracy and its influence on America while simultaneously discussing the unique American landscape in the poem makes Whitman’s work American. Writing in free-verse allowed Whitman to express himself and to display the American spirit. The usage of free verse is evident in the first four lines of Whitman’s “ I Hear America Singing”: I hear America singing, the varied carols I
Walt Whitman created the American classic “Song of myself,” a free verse poem about America and the American
He did not like to be fit in box and rather tried to think out of box to express his ideas to readers. “Song of Myself” is clearly the most famous poem that demonstrated Whitman’s unconventional style and his idea of democracy. The poem came first in series of twelve untitled poems and dominated other poems with its quantity of the size in volume, innovative techniques and original themes. Whitman is a strong believer in democracy, the freedom of individuals. Therefore his poems have many free verses which demonstrated freedom in writing poems.
Throughout Walt Whitman’s writing, it is evident that many of his publications contain contradicting viewpoints about the quality of life. While in many of his works Whitman approaches the complexities of life by gazing through “rose colored glasses”, in other poems Whitman writes cynically, and seems to point out every complication with the world. This difference in the outlook on life can be seen within I Hear America Singing and As I Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life, where Whitman considers accomplishments, and their value in society. While in I Hear America Singing the achievements of people are viewed as extremely important since they live on forever, in As I Ebb’d with the Ocean of Life, accomplishments are viewed as useless since they are forgotten when people pass away.
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.
When taking a closer look at Walt Whitman’s poems, readers can feel what he thinks about the Civil War through his experiences, and about America as a Democracy. In addition, they can find that his poems are different from others’. Readers can see his unique style of poetry through his use of the new style of poem called free verse. This is the reason that he is known as the father of free verse and it is said that his poems are still read by many people today. “Leaves of Grass” is a collection of his poems and is the book that has influenced not only Americans, but also people all over the world.
The writer’s life experiences provide a better understanding of his work, and an analysis of various poems by Whitman will be compared to a modern take on literature. Walter
