Walt Whitman and the Civil War Walt Whitman is considered one of America’s greatest poets. During his lifetime, Whitman wrote hundreds of poems about life, love and democracy, among many others. In particular, Whitman’s poetry reflects the spirit of the age in which he lived, the Civil War. In taking a closer look at one of his most renowned and brilliant pieces, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, three particular themes are observed; his love for nature, the cycle of life, as represented…

Walt Whitman was looked upon as the forerunner of 20th Century poetry, praising democracy, and becoming a proclaimed poet of American democracy. He was known as the "Son of Long Island," and he loved his country and everything about it. (Current, Williams, Freidel- page 292-293). Whitman lived during the time of the Civil War; a fact that increased his patriotism. Whitman was considered one of the most important American Poets of the 19th Century. (Encyclopedia of World Biography- page…

Steve Jobs advised students that, “Your time is limited, so don 't waste it living someone else 's life. Don 't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people 's thinking. Don 't let the noise of other 's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition...” (“You’ve Got to Find What You Love”). Job explains to the Graduates of the Stanford Class of 2005, that in order to be successful one must assert their unique…

Walt Whitman Walt Whitman was a follower of the two Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. He believed in Emerson and Thoreau’s Trascendentalist beliefs. Whitman believed that individualism stems from listening to one’s inner voice and that one’s life is guided by one’s intuition. The Transcendentalist centered on the divinity of each individual; but this divinity could be self-discovered only if the person had the independence of mind to do so. Whitman lent…

Walt Whitman was a revolutionary poet who let his emotions run free through his poetry. Whitman was never afraid to express himself no matter how inappropriate or offensive his emotions might have seemed at the time. This is why Whitman's poem still echo that same sentiment and emotion today almost as loudly as when the drums were first tapped. Life in its ever-evolving glory seems at times to be nothing more than a serious of random events that lead us from one place to another. It takes many…

Walt Whitman and Drumtaps War is hell; there is no other way to put it. No matter how many times bards romanticize war and battle, there is that ultimate, inherent ugliness involved in the business of killing. There is no honor or heroism in dying for your country, you just die, it is a great tragedy and there is nothing you can do about it. Mortality is always present on both sides fighting the battle; there will continuously be casualties. Suffering, misery and destitution are constant…

Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln Table of contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………2 2. Whitman’s position in American literature………………………………………2 3. Whitman’s poetry before the civil war…………………………………...............3 4. Lincoln’s death – a turning point for Whitman………………………………….6 5. Walt Whitman’s four poems on the American nation’s grief…………………7 5.1 Hush 'd Be the Camps To-day…………………………………………………..7 5.2. When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom 'd…………………………………7…

what I shall assume you shall assume” (Whitman 1-2). These lines not only open up the beginning of one the best poems of the American Romantic period, but they also represent a prominent theme of one of this period’s best poet, Walt Whitman. In Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, Whitman deals with his time period’s most prominent theme of democracy. Whitman tells readers that they must not only observe the democratic life but they must become one with it. As Whitman states, “For every atom belonging to…

during sex and eating. In his gutsy poem to America, Song of Myself, Walt Whitman uses repetition to make music that will bring pleasure to his readers and also shape how they perceive the world. Whitman begins his poem by boldly stating that he celebrates himself. Like the chorus to a song he repeats the word “I” throughout the entirety of the poem. The meaning of the word transitions from “I” being Whitman himself, to the people reading his book, and then ending with the reader realizing that “I”…

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…