Defining The American Poet Through Leaves Of Grass : Walt Whitman

When talking about Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman a similar question of “What came first the chicken or the egg?” comes to mind. Scholars may argue that without Emerson and his influential sermons and speeches that Walt Whitman would have never found his voice, but how can someone who so many consider one of the greatest poets of all time cease to exist? Ralph Waldo Emerson knew what he was doing when he published The Poet. It was an outcry for the American people to speak a truthful narrative about the human experience, warts and all. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an influential author and speaker, so when he wrote The Poet, Walt Whitman emerged and fulfilled his expectations after some hesitation from Emerson. Both authors paved the way for countless other writers and played a huge role in American culture and literature. While both authors have their respected writing styles, Walt Whitman found his voice through Emerson’s influence and responded to his call for American poets to step forth and show the world a new era of poetry and literature. Emerson had a specific idea of what poetry should be and although Whitman answered the call, he went in a different direction with his works and writing style.

Whitman wrote broad stanzas and focused on the whole of America as his inspiration. His lines covered a wide range of topics and generated multiple points of view for the reader. He called his life’s work “Leaves of Grass”; stressing the

In “Song of Myself”, grass is the central image surrounding Walt Whitman’s ideology. The idea behind it is grass, in some ways, is very similar to people in society and natures lifecycles. As Whitman was “observing a spear of summer grass” (5), he began to question the human condition. One of Whitman’s first thoughts was that one individual, like a single spear of grass surrounded by more grass, is part of a large community of people. It’s impossible to differentiate from others, for all people are equal despite cultural, religious, or gender differences. Nevertheless, Whitman’s use of symbolism alludes to the idea that grass reflects the thoughts and condition of people in society.

Introduction: Walt Whitman was an American poet from West Hills, Long Island New York. He wrote plenty of poems for the New York Times Journal newspaper also known for the famous book Leaves of Grass that had nine editions and is more than one book. The book Leaves of Grass was published in 1888 when he was finally done with all nine editions and he had passed after publishing the ninth edition.

After studying American author, Walt Whitman, it is clear that he has had a long lasting impact on society and the lives of authors and artists who came after him. Through works like Democratic Vistas and Song of Myself, Whitman gave American society tools to promote creative expression and the essence of democracy. However, Whitman’s methods had to be adopted over time to touch/bring attention to different social issues. Two authors who were able to branch off of Whitman’s works and ideas were Isadora Duncan and James Baldwin. By analyzing these two important characters of history, we will be able explore two different social issues in two different eras and how Duncan and Baldwin refined Whitman’s approach in order to make a statement in society. It’s significant to identify the importance of these artists because this process is still relevant in today’s society, adapting from Whitman in order to get points across and make a difference.

Known for his unorthodox style of writing as well as his innovations in the world of poetry, Walt Whitman could be seen as one of the most influential authors of America. Whitman's most famous work, "Leaves of Grass", a collection of poems, most prominently displays this. His poetry exemplified his beliefs of Romanticism and Transcendentalism in that individuals, community, and nature were important above all. To spread these beliefs, Whitman wrote his poetry in the form of musical carols in his works, "Carol of Occupations", "Carol of Harvest", and "Carol of Words" to make his messages more coherent.

The dominant themes that are more pervasive in Whitman’s poetry are democracy, life/death cycles, individualism, and nature. These themes play major roles in some of his more notable poems such as “Songs of Myself” or “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” He used democracy as a theme to bring society together, and unite everyone based on their general beliefs. He depicted life and death cycles to merge society together on a spiritual level. Despite his eagerness to unite society he also embraced individualism, and is also a persistent theme in most of his poetry. Nature was an important concept that Whitman used to convince people who there were more important things to life than class structure. He used nature connect us all, and encourage people to

American Romanticism took place from 1800 to 1850. During this time there was many poets that created wonderful pieces of writing in which they showed their love for natural. One amazing poet during that time was Walt Whitman. He created a book in which he had many incredible poems. In the section “A Child said what is the grass?” of the poem “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman, Whitman uses grass as a symbol to convey the theme that there is true equality for everyone in society. Whitman expresses to the people of America how society will be reborn and equality will sprout by stating, “Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones Growing among black folks as well as among White, Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff…”(lines 9-11). The author

After the Civil War, Walt Whitman realized that the American people were in need of their own identity. Therefore, he wrote the book “Leaves of Grass” with the goal of creating a literature piece that was authentic and organic to the United States in every sense. Whitman introduced to literature the idea of the “American Dream” and highlighted how important it was for the American people to develop their own identity. Consequently, he rejected the European writing styles and adapted the use of free-verses to his writing, making it a popular writing style in American poetry. Whitman valued of humanity, nature and spirituality. Therefore, he joined the Transcendental literary movement and

In 1855 when the first edition of Leaves of Grass was published, the first Women’s Convention had already taken place in Seneca Falls. According to Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass is a women’s book. In the epigraph of Sherry Ceniza’s Walt Whitman and 19th-century women reformers she quotes him having said “Leaves of Grass I essentially a woman’s book: the women do it know it, but every now and then a woman shows that she knows it” (Ceniza). The implication here combined with the text in Song of Myself suggest a phenomenon that is all too common. Whitman is seen as and sees himself as a poet beyond racial and gender distinctions but like many in a position of privilege, their appropriation of the pain felt by these opposed groups serves only

Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s life legacy and at the same time the most praised and condemned book of poetry. Although fearful of social scorn, there are several poems in Leaves of Grass that are more explicit in showing the homoerotic imagery, whereas there are several subtle – should I say “implicit” – images woven into the fabric of the book. It is not strange, then, that he created many different identities in order to remain safe. What Whitman faced in writing his poetry was the difficulty in describing and resonating manly and homosexual love. He was to find another voice of his, a rhetoric device, and his effort took two forms: simplified, and subverted word play.

In the introduction of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman it depict America and its way of life. at the end of the day the excellence, he trusts that American artist and individuals are the best of all. there are sure things that made this country interesting, for example, the general population from everywhere throughout the world, and distinctive accepts and their societies too. on page 5, section second, whitman showed that America itself is isn't a country, yet it is a countries of a country, here he implied that settler made this country to blend countries. proceeding onward whitman likewise trusts that american are the most virtuoso, he contend that not just the official, diplomats, writers, and so forth, are by all account not the only he is thinking about virtuoso, yet it is the common people.on page 7 he discussed diverse conditions of America, the things each state has, and composed his contention as though he was composing a ballad, since he showed the magnificence of each state, land, ocean, and even kind a people lives in each state. in the start of page 9 Whitman allude to artists that, every one of them composed the ballads, in great or terrible disposition however completed their contemplations of American creative energy. at the end of the day, Whitman trusts, that the writer has have specified just America, and Americans in their ballads, in this manner, that is the reason influenced him to trust that America and American artist, additionally the general population are splendid.

In his first anthology of poems entitled “Song of Myself”, Walt Whitman reveals some of his views on democracy through the use of symbolism and free verse poetry. His use of symbolism and free verse poetry creates indeterminacy, giving the reader hints rather than answers about the nature of the poem. In the sixth part of “Song of Myself”, a child asks the narrator of the poem, “What is the grass?” (Whitman). Instead of simply giving an answer, the narrator cannot make up his mind, and stumbles on how to explain the grass to the child. Through the use of specific symbolisms, Whitman, as the narrator, explicates his views while remaining under the façade of explaining grass to the child. The views Whitman conveys remain indeterminate and

In Walt Whitman’s collection of Leaves of Grass, he includes many poems that are a compilation of his musings and thoughts. One thing that he does throughout his collection is that he creates goals through each poem to get different messages across. Some of his common messages, or underlying themes, are the Self, democracy, and the individual, but an interesting common theme found scattered throughout Leaves of Grass is the cycle of life and death, especially in comparison to the United States, the Civil War, and life itself. In “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” does such thing. Published in 1865, the pastoral elegy was written after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. This is the best way that Walt Whitman mourns a beloved public figure in his own modern world, and also the way he copes with the natural world. “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” best captures Whitman’s notion what it means to be human: the common understanding of the never-ending cycle of life and death through the form of the elegy, the symbol of the lilac, and the personification of death.

In his poems and life, Walt Whitman celebrated the human spirit and the human body. He sang the praises of democracy and marveled at the technological advances of his era. His direct poetic style shocked many of his contemporaries. This style, for which Whitman is famous, is in direct relation to several major American cultural developments. The development of American dictionaries, the growth of baseball, the evolution of Native American policy, and the development of photography all played a part and became essential components of Whitman’s poetry.