Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Walt Whitman and American transcendentalism
Walt Whitman and American transcendentalism
Walt Whitman and American transcendentalism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Walt Whitman and American transcendentalism
Whitman's Democracy
"I speak the pass-word primeval, I give the sign of democracy,
By God! I will Accept nothing which all cannot have their counterpart of on the same terms."
This is Whitman's expression of the idea of democracy taken from "Song of Myself." In this all encompassing interpretation Whitman says that the freedom offered by democracy is for all not a chosen few. It included all people, not renouncing those of other races, creeds, or social standings. Examples of this acceptance are scattered through many of the poems Whitman wrote.
In his poem "To a Common Prostitute" Whitman wrote: "Not till The sun excludes you do I exclude you." He has accepted the women as a prostitute, but this also conveys Whitman's ideas of democracy. The notion that all people should be covered under the cover of freedom. The sun is used as a metaphor for democracy in this poem, as it should shine upon all equally.
When Whitman discusses the "shunn'd persons" in "Native Moments" he once again mimics the concepts of democracy with his words. He lets all know that he embraces the people that others have rejected, as democracy should embrace all.
These people are part of America also, and should be accepted as such. as democracy should embrace all.
Whitman commends the many people of America in "I Hear America Singing."
He writes of the mothers, and the carpenters. He says that they all sing their own song of what belongs to them. In this poem Whitman brings these people from all backgrounds together as Americans. In the freedom of American democracy
democracy is but he still gets nowhere in trying to prove what he is trying to
Throughout history, Americans have sought to spread the spirit of equality, which is believed to be the realization of true freedom. Before establishing this freedom, every American had only one question stuck in their head: What is freedom? Our country received it in the year of 1776 from the British through a series of difficulties and wars. African Americans defined it as an escape from slavery, while immigrants defined it as their acceptance into a new society. More yet, women of the women’s suffrage defined their freedom as their recognition into society and for their rights to be equal to that of every other man. These different perceptions of cultures/groups in America tied together to form an American view of freedom. Freedom is something that every American should be willing to do anything in order to maintain. We may have weapons of mass destruction, but when it comes to living in a peaceful, American lifestyle, our freedom is our greatest weapon.
In "I, Too," Langston Hughes is obviously in conversation with the earlier poem, Walt Whitman 's "I Hear America Singing." Both poems explore the idea of American identity -- who and what is an American? What characterizes the people of this nation? The two poets, however, reach somewhat different conclusions in response to these questions.
there were still many people who were not free from our rule. One group of
"We must have our freedom now. We must have the right to vote. We must have equal protection of the law." These were Martin Luther King Jr.’s words in
“To understand political power right, and derive it from its original, we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom…” (2.8).
conditions just so they could achieve freedom. The title is the first of many subtle symbols
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.
As we begin the final stages of this fight to the death between the free world and the slave world, it is worth while to refresh our minds about the march of freedom for the common man. The idea of freedom — the freedom that we in the United States know and love so well — is derived from the Bible with its extraordinary emphasis on the dignity of the individual. Democracy is the only true political expression of Christianity.
Throughout the course of history, mankind has been recorded to corrupt itself. Men have grown tired of simply surviving; they have had to take and conquer others. Absolute monarchies control wealth, land, and even lives of men. The conditions of the people were solely dependent on the conditions of the one who was in power in that particular place and time. History has proven that most men rule unwisely in their kingdoms. To avoid tyrannical rule, some make an attempt to set up a government in which the people ruled themselves. This form of government is called a democracy, or “rule of the people.” History has also revealed through the Greeks and the French Revolution, that a democracy that gives complete power to the people, “absolute democracy”, is nothing more than a short prelude to tyranny.
John Milton, born December 9, 1608, is considered one of England’s greatest poets. But Milton was not only a poet, he was also a political figure. Milton supported the British Civil War and the Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell. Knowing this background, it is no surprise that many of Milton’s writings contain his strong religious and political beliefs. Sonnet XV, a plea to Lord Fairfax to help the new Commonwealth government be successful, displays Milton’s concern with holy and virtuous ideals, his disdain for the rule of the English monarchy, and his pro-Puritan republican political beliefs.
...t for their right to have a say in how their country should be run. In their old age, the leaders of the American Revolution and eventual founders of the United States worried about the extent to which democracy pervaded society. However, their actions planted the seeds for oppressed groups to fight for their rights. A country whose founding principle is that “all men are created equal…with certain unalienable rights” including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” will always give people hope for a better future.
Within Walt Whitman’s works he expresses his egalitarianism or belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, social, or economic life in his epic book called the leaves of grass. His strong point of view in the poem I Sing the Body Electric is expressed through sexuality, body attributes, political views.
Freedom is one of the most central and certainly most emotive issues in political philosophy. It has been discussed since the times of ancient Greece, and is still as controversial and divisive a topic as ever. This question deals with two separate questions concerning freedom: Firstly, why we consider freedom necessary, and secondly, what exactly is meant by freedom. Clearly, the answer to the second part will greatly affect the answer to the first, but it shall be seen that it is a very challenging task to arrive at a definition of freedom. It is possible, however, to make this job easier by not strictly defining freedom, and using an examination into the desirability of freedom to help form this definition. This will be done below.
"Democracy Arose from Men's Thinking That If They Are Equal in Any Respect, They Are Equal Absolutely." Search Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.