A Criticism Of Walt Whitman's Leaves Of Grass

The most pivotal concern was to read Walt Whitman as a political figure, poet-prophet, a visionary, and a radical spokesperson. This all quintessential features of Walt Whitman made the different literary scholars and academicians to perceive and interpret “Leaves of Grass” as highly autobiographical in content and less aesthetical in nature. Then the literary scholars struggled to perceive the biographical, artistic nature, morality, religious, and philosophical aspects in the poems of Walt Whitman. Thus the complete critic of Walt Whitman was meant to be a philosophical anthropologist. But then they (literary scholars) ignored the Walt Whitman’s statement of “A backward glance o’er travel’d roads”:-

“But it is not on Leaves of Grass distinctively

Even, the declaration of independence speech of Thomas Jefferson and the Merriam Webster dictionary (1st dictionary of the Americans) is not free from that peculiarity. The many prose and verse works also are striving hard to keep-up and nurture that peculiarity. Here, I believe that this whole peculiarity is all about ‘establishing America’ so as to not be rhythmic with the other European countries but to be on its own normative and dogmas. Then those unique features of America are the ‘multitudinal’ shades, individuality, democracy, and freedom. Then the early 20th century ‘s American novel like Great Gatsby of Scott Fitzgerald and some American movies like Rocky all depicts that American dream where a person can change his stars through perseverance and hard-work. The foundation of that American dream lies in the middle 19th century of America.

Now, the most interesting matter is that America could achieve those salient features with the onset of liberality and progressiveness that gave huge scope for individuality and as well as development. Then further the 4 year brutal civil-war with the resultant death toll of five lakh soldiers set a deep impact on America which favoured and highlighted

Then generally progressivism means the changes brought by the onset of industrialization. Later, imperialism was the product of the progressive agenda. Then due to Adam Smith, and J.S.Mill liberal economy theory emerged which largely influenced America where production should be a non-government domain. This further triggered capitalism. Then this caused into huge migration shift into America and the ports of America were bustled with life. Hence, America witnessed the magnificent developments. This also led to the rise of entrepreneurs in the 20th century.

Other poets of the 19th century:-

Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelly, Keats and even Swami Vivekananda were some of the major liberal and progressive poets that I would like to very briefly discuss in the domain of the 19th century.

Wordsworth and Keats are obviously prophesising that we have to prosper and thrive and their path was to turn to nature instead of industrialization and its materialistic life. Here basically for the lake side poets, progression is not be seen in external life but in the internal aspects of the life and which in-turn leads to the true spiritual transgression. So,