Walter Whitman Essay - 2069 Words

All Alone nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Walter Whitman was an American poet of the 1800’s. Walt was arguably one of America’s influential and innovative poets of his time. Whitman began work as a printer and journalist in the New York City area. He wrote articles on politics, civics, and the arts. During the Civil War, Whitman was a volunteer assistant in the military hospitals in Washington, D.C. After the war, he worked in several government departments until he suffered a stroke in 1873. He spent the rest of his life in Camden, N.J., where he continues to write poems and articles. Leaves of Grass, a book of poems Whitman began in 1848 was so unusual at the time that no publisher would publish it. In 1855, he published it†¦show more content†¦It is difficult to challenge the purity and spirituality of the feelings Whitman and Doyle had for each other. Many cant figure out what was between them. â€Å"There can be no doubt that these feelings transcend those usual to friends or companions of the same sex† (Allen 25). Whitman was a homosexual and many of his poems relate to manly love. â€Å"To the serious reader of Calamus, the ‘manly love’ that recurs both as a term and as an idea is of such genuine poetic complexity as to render it a good deal more than ‘abnormal’ and considerably less than ‘deficient’†(Canby 124). The poems also show the friendship of men and women through his life.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Calamus is a section that has changed along with the revisions of the book. The poems came and gone with how Walt felt each poem held up in each section. â€Å" No section in Leaves of Grass has received so much close attention and been the center of so much discussion and controversy as Calamus† (Bliss 288). Whitman’s own saintlike, spiritual life shows as proof that the poems could not be unwholesome. â€Å"William Sloane Kennedy calls Calamus, â€Å"Whitman’s beautiful democratic poems of friendship† (Bliss 288). The purity, innocence, and spirituality of the Calamus concept cannot be missed. The idea in not original with Whitman. As he states, â€Å" the Calamus idea was expressed by all mankind’s saviors and has frequently beenShow MoreRelatedWalter Whitman1003 Words   |  5 PagesWalter Whitman â€Å"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars† (Whitman 41). Walter Whitman, also known as Walt Whitman, was born on May 31, 1819, in Long Island, New York, to Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. When he was twelve, Walt and his family settled in Brooklyn, up to then his family had lived in a dozen different places (Conarroe 4). Walt worked in many different positions; to some he was even viewed as a drifter. Walt was many different things;Read MoreWalter Whitman Research Paper Outline Draft538 Words   |  3 PagesThesis: 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. Introduction: Walt Whitman was an American poet from West Hills, Long Island New York. He wrote plenty of poems for the New York Times Journal newspaper also known for the famous book Leaves of Grass that had nine editions and is more than one book. The book Leaves of Grass was published in 1888 when he was finallyRead MoreLeaves Of Grass By Walt Whitman915 Words   |  4 PagesLeaves on Grass is collection of poems written by an American poet named Walt Whitman. The first edition was published in 1855 but, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting Leaves of Grass, until his death in 1892 at the age of 72. Even though during the time his work was considered immoral later people began to realize the beauty behind his poems and started to appreciate the man who wrote them.Whitman s Leaves of Grass is iconic in American poetry because of the beautyRead MoreDemocratic Individualism in Walt Whitman Poetry1663 Words   |  7 PagesWhitman’s Poetry Walt Whitman will remain as a well-known, superb poet. Clarence Brown stated, the words of someone speaking on Walt Whitman, â€Å"He is the only one of the conventionally recognized American poets who is worth reading† (37). Walt Whitman is a poet that writes with purpose. His poetry seems to attempt to teach the more desirable behavior and traits for Americans. It depicts the ideal American democrat, peace maker, and a well-rounded person, in general. Not that Walt Whitman is only about democracyRead MoreWalt Whitman s Life And Accomplishments1731 Words   |  7 PagesNikuze Mr. Taylor Walt Whitman December 3 2014 Walt Whitman Walt Whitman is an inspiration to many, one can not really understand America with out him. Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819. He had nine siblings including him, he was also the son of Walter Whitman who was a house builder and Louisa van veils or was his mother. They lived in Brooklyn and Long Island in the 1820s and the 1830s. When Whitman turned twelve years old heRead MoreWalt Whitmans Influences1597 Words   |  7 PagesThere have been many influential writers that left their own unique mark on American history; one in particular that has made a significant impact is Walt Whitman. His writing styles evoke different nontraditional methods that did not coincide with the traditions of more â€Å"mainstream† American writers. He did this by establishing a pattern that utilized a lot of free verse compared to the more natural rhyme of poems, and also by describing his subject with emphasis to make the story as real as possibleRead MoreEssay about Walt Whitman744 Words   |  3 Pages During the time period that Walter Whitman lived, there were many controversial things happening to the American people as a whole. One of the most strenuous upon society at the time was the Civil War. The Civil War created many problems in the lives of most Americans during this time period. This war also prompted, and inspired Walt to create many of his historical works of art. The war was raging in both the north and the south during Whitmans golden era of his writing. In the North, the economyRead MoreWalt Whitman s Life That Changed The Way Of Life1690 Words   |  7 Pages Corey Haldiman Goulette Research Paper Walt Whitman Walt used creativity, personal experiences and different ideas in his writing. He moved various times through his childhood, and that may have moved his personality to become slightly neurotic. He has done a lot of things in his life that has changed the way that future poets will write. Walt Whitman entered this world on May thirty-first, eighteen-nineteen in West Hills, New York. He was the second son among nine other children inRead MoreAnalysis Of Frances Willard And Walt Whitman Essay1276 Words   |  6 PagesFrances Willard and Walt Whitman are two significant nineteenth century American figures. Although Willard and Whitman are famous for different reasons, they do have one characteristic in common: they have both been accused of being homosexuals. However, most people do not know this because it is not put in history textbooks or taught in the classroom, for good reason. Public school students should not learn about Willard and Whitman’s homosexuality through thei r textbooks and teachers because itRead More Essay on Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson970 Words   |  4 Pages Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson nbsp; In America’s history, there have been so many writers, but only few are known for changing the course of American literature.nbsp; Two writers that fit this description are Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman.nbsp; These two poets have different styles of writing but possess the same themes from the social environment that they are surrounded in.nbsp; The poetry reflects these poets’ personality and their own style of writing.nbsp; Whitman had an outgoing