The homosexual themes displayed in Walt Whitman’s works, especially in his most famous collection of poems Leaves of Grass, raise the question of his own sexuality. Many of his poems depicted affection and sexuality in a simple, personal manner, causing nineteenth century Americans to view them as pornographic and obscene. Based on this poetry, Whitman is usually assumed to be homosexual, or at least bisexual. However, this assumption does not account for major influences of his writing such
"I have not gain'd acceptance of my own time, but have fallen back on fond dreams of the future" (by Walt Whitman, qtd. in Miller, Sex and Sexuality) SEX AND SEXUALITY IN THE POETRY OF WALT WHITMAN Perhaps, in the following essay I put a quart into a pint pot, because I intend to puzzle out, or rather, find and give a deeper insight into Walt Whitman's sexuality that is still a question on agenda. There are readers and critics who state that it is a shame to humble his poetry to this level
in pushed him to produce such awe inspiring pieces with emotionally appealing meanings. His use of vibrant colors, instead of depicting reality, expressed his inner feelings. Van Gogh said: "Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I see before me, I make more arbitrary use of color to express myself more forcefully."(Art Institute of Chicago 118) His work conveyed a feeling of movement. He worked with urgency contributing to his stressful state of mind. A Post-Impressionist painter, Vincent
Walt Whitman’s vision of America in Leaves of Grass Valentine Abbet TRAVAIL DE MATURITE Sous la direction d’Anne Roland‐Wurzburger Gymnase du Bugnon, Lausanne 2012 «I have sung the body and the soul, war and peace have I sung, and the songs of life and death, And the songs of birth, and shown that there are many births. I have offer'd my style to every one, I have journey'd with confident step; While my pleasure is yet at the full I whisper So long!» Walt Whitman, So Long !, Deathbed edition
America, as Caitlin Stanley referred to it as “spontaneous composition” to come up with almost a list of grievances. He is able to reflect his controversial positions of the time by trying to fight against the conformity and issues of the 50s. This can be seen in “Super Market in California” Ginsberg is trying to show the materialism, which has come into American life with a great magnitude during the 50s. This materialism had never been never present in Walt Whitman’s time, which Ginsberg refers to,
Defining Self-Awareness in the works of Emerson, Whitman and Poe Literature in the American Renaissance influenced the Romantic sentiment that prevailed during this period: the emergence of the individual. This materialization evolved out of the Age of Reason, when the question of using reason (a conscious state) or faith (an unconscious state) as a basis for establishing a set of beliefs divided people into secular and non-secular groups. Reacting to the generally submissive attitudes predominant
when I have music I want to feel its vibration, not only with my ear but with my whole body. I'd like to hear five recordings of Louis Armstrong playing and singing "What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue" -- all at the same time....Invisibility, let me explain, gives one a slightly different sense of time, you're never quite on the beat (Ellison 7-8). Jazz is an offspring of a long oral tradition of African music. But, it does not remain parochial; rather, the "act of visualizing jazz" makes it
hypnotic rhyme and meter to convey the theme of the ambiguous relationship between humanity and nature. Robert Frost is a celebrated American poet whose writing is rooted in the strict commitment to structure of nineteenth century poet’s like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Regarded as a master of modern American poetry, Frost revolutionized the form with an original modern voice and a new directness and economy. In American Poets, 1880-1945: Third Series, author Donald J. Greiner writes, “Frost’s
meaningful in this respect than others. A gesture or facial expression usually carries with it less significance that some larger and overt act, but it is not always the case. Very often it is the small and involuntary action, by very virtue of its spontaneous and unconscious quality, that tells us more about a character’s inner life than a larger, premeditated act, reflecting decision and choice. In either case, whether the action is large or small, conscious or unconscious, it is necessary to identify
She says she sometimes feels “like a machine,” particularly when she fills out the “control card” on which she lists “time in” and “time out” for each tray of envelopes. In a slot marked “cage operator” Ms. Smith writes her code number, 3173. “That’s me,” she says. Barbara Ann Wiles, a keyboard operator, also plays mind games to break up the boredom. Tapping in the names and addresses of new donors, she tries to imagine the faces behind the names, particularly the odd ones. “Like this one, Mrs. Fittizzi