Influential American Poets: Walt Whitman And Emily Dickinson

Whitman Vs. Dickinson Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are often considered the two most representative and influential American poets, and yet they are, in many respects, very different. They both opened the door for two different poetry styles for future poets to walk through. For many, those doors are like a fork on the road; it is one or the other, never both. Usually, after reading both Dickinson and Walt the reader knows exactly which one is their favorite. They differ in a sense of their life and writing styles, but still, occasionally had similar themes. Whitman and Dickinson led very different life styles. Dickinson was a reclusive woman who spent her life cooped up in her room. Whitman was the opposite. This greatly impacted their poetry. Dickinson’s quiet, lonely personality carries over to the tone and themes of her writing. In contrast, the tone of Whitman’s poetry was loud, expansive, and often times, boastful. Dickinson’s time alone in her room, I believe, allowed her more time to think of death, which resulted in her depressingly lonely tone that I heard in her poetry. Whitman, on the other hand, seemed more adventurous. His questionable sexuality shines through his poetry. His many promiscuous poems, gives the reader a sense of openness and honesty to his thoughts.

For me, after Reading Dickinson’s poems, Whitman’s writing did not feel like poetry. Dickinson used short, structured lines that made up several poems. The short length allowed me to read the poem structurally and slowly which ultimately allowed me to interpret them better. Whitman’s use of free verse and repetition in long poems made the poems difficult to follow. The lack of structure made me feel like I was reading a long rant that was difficult to keep strait, and his use of anaphora in nearly all of his poems led me to boredom and