walt whitman

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman was a follower of the two Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson and

Henry David Thoreau. He believed in Emerson and Thoreau’s Trascendentalist beliefs.

Whitman believed that individualism stems from listening to one’s inner voice and that one’s life is guided by one’s intuition. The Transcendentalist centered on the divinity of each individual; but this divinity could be self-discovered only if the person had the independence of mind to do so. Whitman lent himself to this concept of independence. He once said,”Everything on earth has the divine spark within and thus is all part of a whole.”(web.pg2trans.) This philosophy of individualism led to an optimistic emphasis on society. Because Whitman immodestly praised the human body and glorified the senses, “Walt Whitman’s poems assert the worth of the individual and the oneness of all humanity.”

Walt Whitman was an American poet who was born on May 31, 1819, near Huntington,

N.Y. He was the second of a family of nine children. His father was a carpenter and his mother, who he a had a close relationship,was a housewife. When he was four years old, his family moved to Brooklyn, where he attended public school for six years before being apprenticed to a printer. In 1835 he began teaching in country schools. After several yrs. spent at various jobs, including building houses, he began writing a new kind of poetry and thereafter neglected business. Shortly after, in 1955 Whitman issued the first of many editions of Leaves of Grass, a volume of poetry in a new kind of versification, far different from his sentimental rhymed verse of the 1840s.

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Whitman’s first poem in Leaves of Grass is called “Song of Myself”. In this poem

Whitman writes about himself and as is characteristic of Whitman, the “self” becomes a metaphor for humanity as a whole. Whitman came to no conclusion and does not satisfy the readers of this poem. In “Song of Myself” Whitman tells us that the absolute unity of matter and spirit, and all which that unity involves, is the dominant conception of this first and most characteristic period. Whitman said, “The true poet is not the follower of beauty, but the august of beauty.” (pg 362 Crit). Whitman’s “Song of Mysel...

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...mportant every individual in the world is. There really has never been any other books that every have given us the hint that it is so important for the human race to remain one.

In conclusion, I conclude that Whitman’s poems really do express his Transcendental beliefs. I believe he really did try to assert the worth of the individual in all his poems. He used great similies and metaphors to pinpoint his beliefs. Also, his frequent use of cataloging, parallelism, and free verse contributed to his beliefs. Whitman was a great writer who brought up his own way of writing poetry. His poems were all original. Whitman was not a follower of transcendentalism, I believe he was the leader. Even though he wasnt the founder of transcendentalism I still believe he really contributed to it. With out him I believe there would have been a larger amount of Anti-Transcendentalist. Many people have been inspired by

Whitman’s work today. Even after over one hundred yrs. after his death, his work is widely known around the world. Whitman’s work will never be forgotten and the impact that he has had on many successful poets will keep going on for centurys and centurys.