Similarities Between Dickinson And Walt Whitman

Romanticism Expressed In World Changing Poets

American Romanticism is the Romantic style or movement in literature and art, or adherence to its principles that began in the late 18th century. It expressed ideas of the individual, nature, God, imagination, and intuition (“Romanticism”). American Romanticism is found throughout the poems of both poets, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Although both poets have different views expressed in their poems, both author’s works can relate to the ideas of Nature, Truth, and the individual, all of which are portrayed in the concept of Romanticism. Both poets lived very different lives which determined their views of Romanticism. Both of these poets have a complexity within their poems that signifies a deeper meaning. The poems “When I Heard the

Whitman and Dickinson have different views within the ideas of the poems by how they view truth, as Whitman believes truth should be straight forward, while Dickinson believes truth should be broken down and changed to become understandable.

Walt Whitman was born in 1819. He is known for his poem collection Leaves Of Grass. Whitman was a part of the transition between the Enlightenment and Romanticism throughout the 19th century. He is considered one of the architects of a uniquely American poetic voice (“Walt Whitman - Poet”). One of his poems called “I Heard The Learn’d Astronomer” expresses Romanticism. The first part of this poem says “When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them / When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,” (Whitman, 3-4). In these lines Whitman is