Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman was a transcendentalist poet who contributed to America’s history of literature through his poetry and literature (“Walt Whitman”, 2017). Whitman’s poetry often commemorated democracy, love and friendship (“Walt Whitman”, 2018). This can be seen in his most popular piece of poetry, “Leaves of Grass” (“Walt Whitman”, 2018). Whitman is considered one of America’s greatest poets of the 19th century as had large influences on the literature of that era, and influence on other poets to come (“Walt Whitman”, 2018). Walt Whitman was born on May 31st, 1819 in Long Island, New York (“Walt Whitman”, 2017). From his parent’s upbringing, Walt received a love for democracy and his country (“Walt Whitman”, 2017). This passion can be seen in various pieces of his literature as they reflect his portrayal of American Justice. At a young age, Whitman was taken out of school to work where he eventually became an educator and encountered his passion for writing and journalism (“Walt Whitman”, 2018). One of his first and most popular works is his poetry book called “Leaves of Grass” (“Walt Whitman”, 2017). At the time, “Leaves of Grass” was a controversial piece of literature in the U.S due to its unconventional style and eccentric style of writing (“Walt Whitman”,
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He spent a great deal of time with many soldiers, making roughly 6,000 hospital visits throughout his time (“Walt Whitman”, 2017). This life altering experience propelled his literature even further and led to the production of “Drum-Taps” (“Walt Whitman”, 2017). The poetry within this publication contained a strong representation of the Civil War’s Solem purpose (“Walt Whitman”, 2018). As the issue of slavery overcame and enraged America, it also affected Whitman, prompting him to reflect this injustice through his literature (“Walt Whitman”,