|
Walt Whitman was a poet whose poetry was influenced by his life and a documentation of it as well. “Biographers have found, it is difficult to write the life of Whitman without writing instead the life and times of his book” (Miller, 15), his book being Leaves of Grass. ... He infused himself into his poetry; every line is a piece of who Walt Whitman was.
Whitman once said he wanted “to articulate and faithfully express in literary or poetic form, and uncompromisingly, my own physical, emotional, moral, intellectual, and aesthetic Personality, in the midst of, and tallying, the momentous spirit and facts of its immediate days, and of current America – and to exploit that Personality, identified with place and date, in a far more candid and comprehensive sense than any hitherto poem or book” (Miller, 15). ... Whitman completely changed the way Americans looked at poetry. ...
This form of poetry Whitman used, free verse with no set rhythm, fit his life perfectly. Whitman grew up in an America that was also ‘growing up’. ... Whitman realized this and formed a strong bond with America. Many critics and poets actually call Whitman the democratic poet, because he loved to write about his and his country’s ideals. ...
This particular example of Whitman’s poetry comes from his poem, “Song of Myself”. Whitman’s concern and love for his country, people, and their ideals (especially democracy) is mirrored in his poetry.
Whitman wrote about everything and anything he saw or experienced.
Approximate Word count = 1210
Approximate Pages = 4.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
|
|
