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Similarities Between Whitman And Emily Dickinson

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A During the 1800’s, Rebel and a Recluse would change the landscape of American Literature forever. Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson would skillfully and passionately write several a hundred poems between them, and while they were seldom appreciated in the years of the authors, they would become treasured during the time after them. Walt Whitman was born in 1819, and at the age of 11 was deprived of a normal childhood education because his father wanted to recapture the families lost glory. The Whitman’s were once a wealthy family, owning a good deal of farmland in the New York state’s long island (Walt Whitman Biography, n.d.). Similarly, Emily Dickinson would finish most of her childhood education, attending two different academies for a total of eight years (Emily Dickinson Biography, n.d.). While it is not known whether Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson knew each other, their one commonality is that they both loved literature. Together the Rebel and Recluse changed the way that Literature operates through their differing but similar viewpoints and literary styles. Four poems make their perspectives on gender particularly apparent, Whitman’s Song of Myself part I (pp. 1024-1025), The Wound-Dresser part 4 (p. 1082) and Dickinson’s 207 [214] (p. 1195), 269 [249] …show more content…

The first version of the poems was self-published in the year 1855, though they were met with little commercial success. This lackluster commercial success is precisely what made Whitman’s poem’s so unique; a disregard for established literary form and an unrepentant interest in topics considered taboo at the time (Walt Whitman Biography, n.d.). It was this first version of the Leaves of Grass, which caught the eye of an admirer, Ralph Waldo Emerson encouraged the Rebel to continue his work, while his own work would inspire the Rebel to begin her

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Whitman revised his book, Leaves of Grass nine times from 1855 to 1891. Originally containing nine editions, it grew into about 400 in the span of thirty-six years. Because of his obsession over his work, it is evident that he was a perfectionist and too proud to forget about his original submissions. Therefore, he continued to revise them as his skills progressed. It was no secret that Whitman saw the world differently than others, admiring little details and showing appreciation towards things any other person would not think twice about.

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Buddy Reedy English l l l Mrs. Way Period 7 Buddy Reedy’s Essay over Walt Whitman’s Life Walt Whitman lived a life full of change. He often wrote about it through his poems during the Civil war era about how he opposed slavery and would like them to be free, and a huge inspiration for his poems was Abe Lincoln and the idea of reuniting the South with the North again and also how he helped the wounded soldiers at a hospital in the Union Capital in The United States. Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, New York on May 31 1819. He was the second child out of eight siblings. His father's name was Walter Whitman and his mother's name was Lousia Van Velser Whitman.

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Such an approach on criticism takes on a social content analyses of a literary piece of work, in which its perceived values as a particular work of art, in this case the poem, implicitly or explicitly expresses. During Walt Whitman’s life, American patriotism during the nineteenth century discussed the notion of American history with regards to cosmic philosophy. It came almost innate to them that change and progress was through God's design. Thus, what was America's great growth in its historical process was a by-product of this glorious divine design.

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780 Words | 4 Pages

Walt Whitman was an American poet. Through his many years as a poet he faced the many challenges of writing pieces that would appeal all races and ages. He was the poet who knew that the way that blacks was treated was unfair, so he wrote many pieces about the particular topic. For example, his most famous work is “Leaves of Grass,” where he discusses what he sees day to day as a white american, the horrific actions that were placed upon blacks. Whitman used tone, diction, and many different themes to try and grasp the many people that were living in America at that time.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

Walt Whitman was one of America’s greatest poets. His writing, though, was often meet by critics. In 1855, Whitman published the first edition of Leaves of Grass. This text was immediately attacked by critics saying that he abandoned traditional poetic devices and forms. Whitman, infact, did what he was accused of.

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355 Words | 2 Pages

The most profound poets of Walt Whitman’s day including Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare were so well known because they wrote with rhyme and structure in every line they wrote. This is the way poetry was written until Walt Whitman published his first book of poetry called “Leaves of Grass” which, although had some harsh criticism when it was first published, completely changed poetry ever since. Walt Whitman abandoned the regular meter and rhyme patterns (Walt Whitman) and according to Robert Hudspeth created a whole new poetic form. (Walt Whitman Biography). Whitman profoundly created meaning in his poetry by using a technique not well known in poetry at his time known as free verse, innovative use of figurative language, and writing

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600 Words | 3 Pages

Walt Whitman was an American Poet who had wrote the groundbreaking poetry collection Leaves of Grass. Leaves of Grass is a collection of poems written in the nineteenth century. Beginning with twelve poems and ending with four-hundred, Whitman constantly revised his work. In Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman’s primary focus was to express, explore, and celebrate his own self, personality, and individuality. Secondly, he wanted to applaud democracy and the American nation with its accomplishments and potential.

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Walter “Walt” Whitman, a famous American poet, also known as, The Bard of Democracy or The Father of Free verse, (European Graduate, 1997) was born May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Huntington Township, New York (Chronology of Whitman). He was born to Louisa Van Velsor, and Walter Whitman Sr, both of whom are said to be “descendants of early settlers on Long Island” (Chronology

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Frist employed as an office boy for some prominent Brooklyn lawyers Firm, who gave him a subscription to a circulating library, which was the start of his self-education (Illinois English Editiors). Whitman engrossed in a wide-ranging education through his visits to museums, his continuous reading, and his fondness for engaging every person he met in a discussion and deliberation (Illinois English Editiors). Whitman forged his own coarse and informal curriculum of literature, theater, history, geography, composition, and archaeology out of the evolving public resources of America’s fastest rising metropolitan city (Illinois English Editiors). His Second Job of employment was the “Long Island Patriot” a newspaper where he was educated about the printing trade (Illinois English Editiors).At the age of twelve, young Walt was already contributing to the newspaper and undergoing the excitement of getting his own words published (Illinois English Editiors). Whitman’s first signed article, in the upscale New York Mirror in 1834 (Illinois English Editiors).

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However, both of them were two different personalities from a completely distinctive society because Emily Dickinson came from a conservative and strict family. Therefore, she is withdrawn, and on the other hand, a controversial personality because she dealt with the modern poetry. For that reason, her contradictory feelings often fight a battle with each other in her poems. Walt Whitman came from a simple civilian family, whose parents were very hardworking people who had big national values, thus according to his revolutionary and national ideology Walt Whitman fits into the modern American poetry. Nevertheless, the ideas of two poets are similar at a certain point because in their poems both of them

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575 Words | 3 Pages

In 1855, he published a famous book called Leaves of Grass which included many stories and poems he had written over the years (Walt Whitman Revolutionised American Poetry). This specifically affected other poets by opening up a new way of literature to them. Opportunities were given by this book to many people besides writers because of the powerful movements Whitman spoke of. The idea of equality was put into place by Transcendentalists such as Walt

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1214 Words | 5 Pages

American Romanticism American Romanticism is a concept that developed in the 17th century. Romanticism is all about emotions, the meaning of life, religion, society, the human form, death, and nature. Romanticism is very diverse and complex because each writer interprets the themes differently and each person who reads the poem can see something different and unique. Two famous and influential romantic poets were Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Although Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were both romantic poets they interpreted society and death in two completely different ways.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

At the age of twelve, Walt became a printer’s apprentice and was exposed to the printing trade. Thus, Walt Whitman’s love for writing began. At age sixteen, he became a school teacher. Then, at the age of nineteen, he founded a newspaper. Though he liked both of these occupations, he claimed that writing and poetry was his “first love”.

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Whitman‘s free verse poem was considered unconventional and explicit at the time of it’s publishing in Leaves of Grass in 1855. Whitman’s poem contains various messages about the body and societal and political beliefs that were considered unacceptable at the time. He argues that the body and the soul are one in the same and that the body does not make the soul immoral, as stated in the Christian faith. In the fifth section, he pens, “This the nucleus—after the child is born of woman, man is born of woman,…/ Be not ashamed women, your privilege encloses the rest, and is the exit of the rest, /You are the gates of the body, and you are the gates of the soul.” Whitman communicates to the reader that women should not be ashamed of their bodies and their ability to create life.

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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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