Walter Whitman

Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman had very similar lives. They both came from working class families and neither one of them went to high school or graduated college. They learned from watching people and by reading books on their own. They both had a certain sense for the world that made them able to see what was going on around them and grasp its significance. Although Whitman was born sixty years before Sandburg there were still a lot of the same things happening in America and they both picked up on one important factor of the time, that of the average working class man. Whitman and Sandburg admired the working class man for all of his hard work and they wrote a lot about this

Also complimenting each other are their ideas of great men throughout history. Emerson says, "No greater men are than ever were, a singular equality may be observed between the great men of the first and last years" while Whitman proclaims "Births have brought us richness and variety…I do not call one greater and one smaller, That which fills it's period and place is equal to any." However, while Emerson feels that what great men have in common is the courage to listen to their own individuality and to be the first to express an idea, Whitman sees all men as contributing greatness to one another.

In Walt Whitman’s poem, “O Me! O Life!” he writes about the meaning of life and asks why we exist, and to what end. In the poem, there are three forms of text evidence that help to support the theme. The first form of evidence is, “O me! O Life! of the questions of these recurring.” In this stanza he is talking about all of the problems that comes up in life. Another piece of evidence is, “of eyes that vainly crave light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d.” Here Whitman is talking about how hard it is to stay humble. It is hard because there are so many things in life trying to make people become self-absorbed. The last evidence from the text that supports the theme is, “Answer. That you are here-that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” This quote is saying that the answer to life is that we are here to exist and if people are lucky they

Walt Whitman was an American poet whose writings are a major landmark in the history of American literature. A worldview is a system of beliefs and perspectives that inform and guides every decision we make. The worldview of Walt Whitman in his poem "O Me! O Life!" is that even when you feel useless and that all your aspirations are hopeless, you can still contribute a verse to the powerful play of

People of all kinds are influenced by their everyday life and it shows in their work. Walt Whitman is no exception to this rule. Whitman was born in 1819

Walt Whitman’s poem “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” seeks to provide a brief exploration of the contrast between wisdom and knowledge. Whitman uses numerous poetic devices and syllable stresses to conclude his intended theme of the poem. Along with the structure, he implements purposeful character and setting development within the eight lines of the poem. Although short in length, this work leaves much to be discovered.

Also included in the poem is the image of a young child being embraced by their elders. This shows the gap in life and the aging process that we go through. When we are young we are carefree, but as we age we hold on to the ones we love because of the knowledge that we will one day have to make our departure. Out of this idea of death, Whitman shows that this is a natural part of life and

Walt Whitman, one of the world's greatest journalist and poets, touched the lives of many different and diverse cultures through his many works in which he placed his feet in the shoes of everyday people and the experiences they faced. However, his attitude towards slavery and abolitionism were never permanent as if he was constantly torn between how he really felt or how others who did not agree with him would judge his views. As the saying goes, "your first teachers are your parents." Whitman grew up in a racist environment, in which he was a descendent of slave owners. Therefore, he grew up embodying white prejudice and coming to a conclusion that blacks were shiftless and ignorant. However, as he grew older and became more educated on the

Thesis: People who read about Walter Whitman tend to say that he had a good life until his mother pass and his book Leaves of Grass in a book about his life and what he went through.

Walt Whitman is considered one of the most important writers in the history of American Literature. The people of his own time called him a radical, a madman, and a pornographer. These days he is greatly appreciated and entitled as a fearless prophet of a new stage of human development. Sometimes Whitman would be in a slump and he felt that he needed to deflect the people who inquired too directly. This even meant using examples of homosexual elements in his work, as well as unbelievable stories of him having affairs with numerous women and fathering many children, unknown to him. Throughout these sorts of times W. Whitman has gone through both resentment and flattery, nevertheless showing us

In the poem “Song of Myself” Whitman presents the idea that regardless of particular religion, a higher power resides within every living thing and that the knowledge of ourselves and the living things around us gives us a transcendent power beyond our world. On the “Song of Myself” poem Whitman presents the believe that every living organism in the universe possesses a spirit. Additionally, Whitman acknowledges the need for a spiritual relationship between a person and a higher spiritual power. For Whitman, life was and endless journey. The following quote captures some of the Transcendental elements used by Walt Whitman on the “Song of Myself”

A possible interpretation of this poem is that Whitman believes something good can be found in anything. One way he conveys this idea is through the optimistic tone. Rather than focusing on the boring or negative aspects of everyday life, he points out the positive things like the “exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring”. In this example he uses the adjective “exquisite” to point out the beauty that he finds in nature.

Walt Whitman, a civil war nurse was a self-taught poet in the 1800s. Whitman is known for using lists, anaphora, free verse, and other literary devices in his poems. In his works, he focuses on American workers, diversity, transcendent approaches to nature, and individualism. “Song of Myself,” a poem written by Whitman, explores themes of nature, sex, democracy, and spirituality. Whitman uses nature to fuel his creativity in using grass as a symbol of comparison to life by using imagery, metaphors, and analogies.

President Abraham Lincoln, admired by Walt Whitman, blossomed in “Whitman's writing and in American mythology”(Eiselein) for his leadership and nobility. Whitman hoped for a rugged, healthy, who knew what real, physical work was, to be the “[r]edeemer [p]resident of [t]hese [s]tates”(Whitman). His hopes came true “as in a dream”(Whitman) when “four years later, just such a beard-faced boatman”(Goodheart) entered the White House. Walt Whitman discovered the “comprehensive, all-directing soul he had long been seeking”(Reynolds) in Abraham Lincoln’s life. Therefore Whitman, a patriotic American, would see Lincoln’s death as not only a grave tragedy but also a “promise [of] ultimate purgation and unification for America.”(Reynolds).

This poem explores the difficulties of discovering the relevance of life. The suggestion that Whitman offers as a means of becoming distinguished, or obtaining an identity, is to live a life of self-satisfaction. The persuasive devices used in this poem successfully communicate Whitman’s own theory of breaking the molds of society by living as a self-satisfying individual. Whitman informs his audience that he has lead the same life as they had lived and the one who lead the same life as their children will and their ancestors did. The poet questions the significance of a person’s achievements by asking, “My great thoughts as I supposed them, were they not in reality meagre. He thought that it would be hard for any person to measure their self- accomplishments on the planetary scale. The second verse of the poem introduces the metaphor of the world being a simple, compact with the people dissolved into the eternal float of solution. Sunrise, sunset circling birds on the Brooklyn ferry are woven into this poem. The continuous use of repetitive imagery conveys the feeling that our existence is in fact part of an infinitely moving machine that has no purpose or destination. By using these devices, Whitman shakes his audience with the convincing notion that life as it is normally perceived is not