Whitman and Neruda as Grassroots Poets Essays

Born ten years after the death of Walt Whitman, there was no possible way for Langston Hughes to ever meet or communication with Whitman, but that did not mean Hughes could not establish a connection to him, or at least his work. In 1925, Hughes wrote a poem titled “I, Too” was inspired by and directed in response to the poem “I Hear America Singing”, which was composed by Whitman much earlier. Whitman’s poem consisted of a variety of different American laborers who “sing” as they do their jobs. This well-known poem never specifically addresses the ethnicity of these singing laborers of the American population, but Hughes sets about to rectify that omission.

The similarities between the 3 poems are talking about America, Imagery , and work of the people. In Ángela de Hoyos’ poem “To Walt Whitman” line 3 states “ prophet democratic” telling the type of government America is. Walt Whitman talks about America with “ I HEAR America singing” and Hughes states “ I, too, sing America.” The subject of the poems can be considered America, because of the authors’ experiences. Imagery can be clearly seen in Walt Whitman’s poem by the type of work used to describe the job with a sound. Then De Hoyos talk about a “-a Chicana guitar-,” which is used to play traditional music and Whitman

One of the most disturbing things in today’s culture is a loss of originality and nationality. People are no longer proud to be Americans and instead of pushing for new heights people follow in the footsteps of others. People today need heir sense of self back and need to start taking pride in what they do and where they’re from. In “One Song, America, Before I Go” by Walt Whitman and “I Too” by Langston Hughes, the speakers celebrated the concepts of individuality, originality, and nationality.

The two poems, “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman, and “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, can be cross-analyzed to display several similarities and differences. Although the styles of the poems differ; they both contain similar literary devices such as imagery and metaphor. In addition, the poems seem to communicate with each other when placed side by side. In other words, “Let America Be America Again,” may be read as a response to “I Hear America Singing.” The American Dream is explored in both poems and yet it is only present in “I Hear America Singing,” while missing and longed for in “Let America Be America Again.”

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

Walt Whitman was an American poet, many people considered him one of the greatest poets of history in American literature. He celebrated freedom and praised democracy of the brotherhood in men. Moving onto Angela De Hoyos born in Coahuila, Mexico, her poems strives people to represent the concerns of those who are not able to express themselves, yet who have too much to say she was a co-publisher and general editor. To get ahead meets Langston Hughes, he was certainly one of the most universally beloved poets who was a social activist, he was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form called jazz poetry. These poets had a significance in the early 1800’s-1900’s.

In his canonical collection, Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman creates a poetic persona that envisages a particularly American brand of nationalism. Written almost a century after the instrumental document of American republicanism; the Declaration of Independence (1776) was actualized; Whitman’s poems draw on some of its key tenets, mainly equality and liberty. Like the Declaration of Independence, his poems perpetuate a framework of American democracy and the importance of the democratic individual. However, unlike the Declaration of Independence, which puts forth a politically and historically reactive American republicanism and identity, Whitman’s poems seek to mythologize America as inevitably, inherently and organically democratic. This paper

The United States has been a beacon of taking in people of all lifestyles to give them freedom. This freedom is offered in looking at the people coming into this country as people who have value to contribute and be a part of the American culture. Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” plays the role of uniting the individuals he celebrates throughout his poem. Walt Whitman appealed to the need of having an American literature that had not been built before in representing all of the American people. As in Ted Genoways

Throughout the interactive oral, we discussed Neruda’s beliefs and how they influenced his poetry. Moreover, we discussed how these things not only influenced his writing style, but also his life.

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.

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

If one listens closely, they can hear America’s song. The words, like thunder, comprise the groans of the slave, the cheers of the free, and the unmistakable sounds of the brave. The music rings out as clear as day; it is composed by the growing children and the dying men. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes captured the essence of these songs in their respective works, “I Hear America Singing” and “I, Too, Sing America.” The first describes the melodies of a working nation, the “the wood-cutter’s song” and the “delicious singing of the mother” (Whitman 7-8). The quiet musings of a young African American make up the latter; it is a hymn of hushed hope for tomorrow. Although the two poems stand alone, both Whitman’s and Hughes's works powerfully capture the song of America through the sense of pride found in each piece, the uses of different literary elements, and their individual views of the nation.

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself / and 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 me as good belongs to you” (3). Democracy provides a connection with all people. It is as if Joseph Stella felt this connection and decided to depict it in his collection of paintings entitled “Americans in the Rough.” The individual is of no greater or lesser worth than anyone else. Beatrice Marovich states that, “It is a song for fellow Americans, about the American body politic” (349). An analysis of Song of Myself portrays that understanding and becoming one with democracy through political collectivity essentially sets the stage for the American democratic self. Joseph Stella does a great job of interpreting and depicting Whitman’s ideals of democracy through his illustrations representing every facet of an American democratic life.

America by Allen Ginsburg. In this poem, Walt Whitman is upset with America. In the specific lines Walt Whitman talk about his anger towards the government and more. He then goes on to talk about how America once inspired him to become a saint. When he says such, he starts to refer to the American dream. America inspired him to become pure by doing the opposite of what the country was doing. The speaker energy changes in throughout the stanza. Instead of ranting he just wants to come to a mutual agreement with the U.S. Then he refers to another writer William Burroughs who was known for being a good writer, killing his wife during a drunken game, and being a drug addict. The speaker does this to express how his close friend moved to Tangiers to get away. However, when he went he continued to write and do drugs, in other words, he continued to sin. Mr. Ginsburg is asking if America is sinister like Mr. Burroughs. At the end, the speaker has not come to his point, however he’s getting closer to doing so. This stanza shows how the speaker switches from being upset with America to bringing other countries into the

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.