Walt Whitman Research Paper

Walt Whitman: An American Poet Walt Whitman is held as one of the most influential and inspirational poets to ever grace American literature. His writings effected various ideologies about sexual expression, self-realization, and national identity, while also impacting civil and social movements of his time. Scholars today still attribute to his works many contemporary ideas about politics, gender roles, and economic/class disparities. Whitman’s poetry is believed to have been influenced by personal experiences, characterized by symbolism and his own personal technique. 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

More importantly, however, he offered his poetry as a gesture to society promoting healing and togetherness. Poems that seem to characterize himself often symbolize the average man. One of his goals as a poet was to capture the vitality and defiance of the b’hoy, an American type characterized by free thinking, an affiliation for slang, and prone towards violent outbursts. Whitman drew not only upon American people, but also from many facets of American culture including music, dance, opera, and art. People loved the intimate and personal nature that supplemented Whitman’s poetry. This identification with American culture even extended to the most private area of life, sex (Reynolds

Many of his poems are highly subjective with Whitman interjecting himself into the material often, yet not so much that dissuades the reader. His poems are relatable to some extent, but more importantly they offer and expressive outlook on many things. Whitman’s utilization of free form further enhances the material. It is apparent that much of his work contains homosexual subtext, but the things that influenced Whitman should not negate or promote his work in itself. More important is the effect that Whitman’s poems has on the reader and on American