Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson The Romantic Poets

They are considered to be the two greatest poets of the nineteenth century! Be curious, not judgmental. WhitmanIf I can stop one heart from breaking,I shall not live in vain: Dickinson

1819-1892 Walt Whitman

Background • He came from a large family (seven brothers and sisters) • Had the opportunity to live in both a country setting and the city of New York (Brooklyn) • He attended school until he was eleven, then worked as a printer’s assistant and a teacher

Background • Worked in journalism until the age of thirty • Moved to New Orleans to continue journalism • Eventually returned to New York as a journalist and part-time carpenter/contractor. • He kept journals and diaries that became the basis for much of his literary work.

Poetry • Based on cadence, which is the long, easy sweep of sound that echoes the Bible and the speeches or orators and preachers. • Cadence was the base for free verse, which is poetry without rhyme or meter. • In 1855, he published his most important collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. He revised it nine times before his death in 1892.

O captain! my captain! our fearful trip is done;The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the stead keel, the vessel grim and daring. Walt’s Style • Frequently uses catalogs– the piling up of images or concrete details • Example from “Song of Myself” “My tongue, every atom of my blood, formed from this soil, this air/Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same” (lines 6-7)

Style • His catalogs here represent the spiritual unity among all forms of being. • He frequently uses parallelism—the repeated use of phrases, clauses, or sentences that are similar in structure or meaning. • Use of parallelism helps to create a sense of unity within his poetry and it also provides a structure, creates a rhythm, and emphasizes important ideas.

Style • Uses free verse– verse that has irregular meter and line length • Whitman was the first American poet to use free verse. • His use of free verse allowed him to express himself without restraint

We never know how high we areTill we are called to rise;And then, if we are true to plan,Our statures touch the skies. Emily Dickinson 1830-1886 Hope is a thing with feathersThat perches in the soul,And sings the tune without wordsAnd never stops at all.

Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes. Background • Born into a wealthy New England family and had a happy childhood. Everyone assumed she would grow up to marry and have a family. • At 24, her father took her on a business trip to separate Emily from a drastic situation…she had fallen in love with a married man she could never marry. Beauty is not caused. It is.

Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell. Background • Ironically, while on the trip, she fell in love with another married man, Charles Wadsworth, a Presbyterian minister. She was once again separated from the man she loved. • She then withdrew from all social life except involving her family.

Emily alone! • Within a few years, Emily was dressing in all white and lived in total seclusion. • Her only activities included writing her poems and household chores.

Emily’s Poetry • She only printed a handful of her poems during her lifetime. • However, she made sure that she left bundles of her poems to be found after her death. • Family and friends edited her poems and published them in numerous installments. • Her poems were brief and contained brilliant metaphors.

Emily’s Style • Uses unconventional punctuation and capitalization • Most of her lines and stanzas are very brief • Most of her poetry is writing in quatrains • Usually, only the second and fourth lines in her quatrains rhyme. • She often uses slant or partial rhymes. • She has a tendency to use figurative language to convey her ideas.

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson