Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Themes in whitman's poetry
Walt whitman poems short essay
Short essay on walt whitman's poetry
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Themes in whitman's poetry
The poem Repondez, by Walt Whitman, first published in 1856 had the title Poem of Propositions of Nakedness. The title used today only appeared as such in the 1867 and 1871-72. This essay, I shall analyze this poem based on Ball, T and Dagger’s entries from The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought, more specifically the entries on Radicalism and Philosophic Radicalism. I will attempt to do this in order to see how much does this poem is inclined to be a radical poem based on the theoretical background outlined by the authors. To begin with, in the Enciclopedia Blackwell… radicalism is defined as a disposition to subject existing arrangements to critical questioning. It should be taken as a stance rather than a political creed and its practice …show more content…
They also believed that civil liberty required both a strong body of landed gentry, independent from the king, and a mixed constitution which would maintain a balance of monarchical, aristocratic and democratic elements. Philosophic Radicalism is a British doctrine that combines utilitarianism and classical political economy that that tried to rationalize the law; and a rationale for democracy. Philosophic radicalism was concerned with practice; it provided a justification for radical changes in the established regime and church, and landed aristocracy. Bentham, James Mill, and John Stuart Mill were very committed to the philosophic radical doctrine. The term, although not coined by them, they adopted it and had specific meaning. They believed that a parliamentary party ought to be and could be formed with the primary goal of seeking constitutional reform along democratic
Walt Whitman was a famous American poet who wrote many great poems during the Civil War. Though he originally worked for printing presses and newspapers, he later became a famous poet. During the Civil War, Whitman wrote many patriotic poems that supported the ideas of the North. Whitman’s poems will forever be linked to the American Civil War era of poetry. Walt Whitman was an iconic American poet with an interesting life that later impacted his works of poetry.
A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak and Grim written by Walt Whitman, an american poet focuses on a soldier walking through the hospital tent at camp. The soldier examines three deceased soldiers, one old, one young and one who is not young nor old. The poem was written during the Civil War and thus the setting of the poem is a campsite in the Civil War. Although a recognized American poet, essayist, and journalist Walt Whitman had little to no formal education, this however proved to be a defining characteristic in his work. This short poem seems to be simple and straight to the point but it actually lends itself to a deeper meaning.
Most political theories in the American Enlightenment were gotten from John Locke's Two Treatises on Government and the works of English radical political theorists, and for sure a radical republican group called the "commonwealthmen." Colonists’ political thought was a confusing and uneasy mix of Scottish common sense philosophy, Enlightenment thought, English law, Puritan thinking, and the unique experience of colonial life. With Enlightenment, they came up with political ideas centering around John Locke. They stated that when the British government took away their liberties, the British had severed the political bonds that tied America and Britain together. The Americans believed in representation, contractual government, and natural rights. Radical English thought was distributed in America and American political thought was enthusiastically distributed throughout Britain by the radicals. The "commonwealthmen." were the most important among the English radical thinkers that influenced American political thought. They believed that the monarchy should be abolished in favor of a republic ruled by a representative government. They thought of the English Parliament as hopelessly corrupt and opposed parliamentary taxation and the existence of standing armies.
Rein, S. (2009). Radical politics. In J. Brodie & S. Rein (Eds.), Critical concepts: An introduction to politics (4th ed.) (pp. 60-71). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education Canada.
In Walt Whitman’s poem Oh Captain! My Captain! He talks about the death of America’s commander and chief, Abraham Lincoln. Whitman published this poem in his book of poems about the civil war causing him to become one of a handful of people to be the only ones who did not participate in the war, but wrote about it. In fact, Whitman uses various metaphors to tell of the death of Abraham Lincoln to the common people of the Union.
Poetry is a universe of subjectivity. When two poems are set up, side-by-side, to create discussion, results may vary. But it is clear in Sherman Alexie’s two poems, “Defending Walt Whitman” and “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel”, where the discussion must go. Alexie explores Native American culture and the effect that the Europeans have had on the native people of the United States. This feat is accomplished through the thoughtful use of several literary devices, including tone, simile, allusion, and metaphor.
A cold stare, and a hand on his hip, is how Walt Whitman introduced himself to his readers in 1855. The style of Whitman’s frontispiece was uncommon for its time, a man with a loose collar and a worn hat would have been found more commonly on a farm than adorning a literary scholar in the mid-nineteenth century. Whitman wanted to show that he was no better than anyone who would read his poetry. Whitman conveyed himself to his audience by showing himself as an everyday workingman; his wrinkled shirt shows that he is use to working hard for everything that he has. The stare he gives back to his audience looks as if he is examining the reader the same way they may be examining him or his work.
(A critique of Walt Whitman’s themes and ideas in Song of Myself 6, 46, 47)
The Heath Anthology of American Literature repeatedly refers to Walt Whitman and his poetry in terms of being American, yet as I read Song of Myself, my thoughts are continually drawn to the philosophies and religions of the Far East. Like the Tao Te Ching ideas are expressed in enigmatic verse and each stanza is a Zen koan waiting to be meditated on and puzzled out. Even Emerson called Whitman's poetry "a remarkable mixture of the Bhagvat Gita and the New York Herald" ("The Whitman Project"). Song of Myself contains multitudes of passages that express Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist thought.
Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" is a vision of the American spirit, a vision of Whitman himself. It is his cry for democracy, giving each of us a voice through his poetry. Each of us has a voice and desires, and this is Whitman's representation of our voices, the voice of America. America, the great melting pot, was founded for freedom and democracy, and this poem is his way of re-instilling these lost American ideals. In this passage from "Song of Myself" Whitman speaks through his fellow man and speaks for his fellow man when his voice is not socially acceptable to be heard.
My theory is that the scientist are just as appreciative of nature as the poet Walt Whitman. While I do believe this I also do agree with the writer of the essay that science does "Sucks the beauty out of everything. Reducing it all to numbers, tables, and measurements."(Science and the Sense of Wonder pg. 249) However I also feel that science explained while it is beautiful because it tells us why we see blue as blue, red as red, or green as green. Scientist don't just look at a deer and the first thing they do is take measurements and study it sometimes they just look at deer to look at deer. While yes 9 times out of 10 we do unethical things like experimenting on animals but it is just as bad as those people who are going out and shooting deer yet people say "They're getting out into nature." At least scientist aren't murdering for
Walt Whitman’s poem Time to Come explores Whitman’s curiosity of what happens when people die. Rather than taking a pessimistic approach, his writing is more insightful about the experience. The title alone introduces an aspect of his purpose; to point out that dying is inevitable. With Whitman captures the reader’s attention and shares his curiosity with vivid images, sophisticated diction, and his use of metaphor and personification in Time to Come.
“I Sing the Body Electric” is one of twelve poems that comprised the 1855 first edition of Walt Whitman’s self-published masterpiece, Leaves of Grass. Like other poems, especially “Song of Myself,” it is a celebration of life. It is hard to believe this classic was written during the Civil War era. A time historically riddled with slavery and injustice, of mass death and discord, as well as the expansion of industrialization, the movement out west and population growth. This 19th century classic defines an age-old problem. In brief, the human body is too often disrespected, abused, underappreciated, or taken for granted. According to Whitman, "If anything is sacred the human body is sacred," (Routledge, section 8), and “if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?” (Routledge, section 1). An analysis of “I Sing the Body Electric” assists us in recognizing our eternal state of existence and well-being; a state only conceived through a unified consciousness of the human body and soul. In it Whitman poetically expresses his appreciation and respect for the intricate, spiritual unification between the human body and the soul.
The homosexual themes displayed in Walt Whitman’s works, especially in his most famous collection of poems Leaves of Grass, raise the question of his own sexuality. Many of his poems depicted affection and sexuality in a simple, personal manner, causing nineteenth century Americans to view them as pornographic and obscene. Based on this poetry, Whitman is usually assumed to be homosexual, or at least bisexual. However, this assumption does not account for major influences of his writing such as the shift from transcendentalism to realism and the American Civil War. After considering these factors, it can be concluded that Whitman’s poems were not intended to set apart a few homosexual men, but to bring all men and women together. Walt Whitman’s poems of spiritual love and physical togetherness of both genders emphasized exalted friendships and are indicative of his omnisexuality, or lack of a complete sexual preference, rather than his alleged homosexuality.
Society shapes human beings into what they think is perfection. People in today’s society follow the world’s rituals as they continue to conform to fit in to the latest trends. Today, implants, plastic surgery, and weight loss treatments are the reason people have money set aside in their savings accounts. The pressure of others claims to be the main reason people change their hair, skin, and size, and often forget about their own special characteristics. There is a reason Walt Whitman, writes “I Celebrate Myself, and Sing Myself,” to show the importance of loving yourself and cherishing your own personal qualities as a human being. He speaks of himself, hoping to grab his readers’ attention. Throughout the poem, “I Celebrate Myself, and Sing