Walt Whitman Summary

Whitman, Walt (b. May 31, 1819; d. March 26, 1892) American poet. Born in West Hills, New York to a large family of Quaker background and raised in Brooklyn, Walt Whitman was a journalist, wartime n... Read more

Biography Essay"A great figure, the greatest assuredly in our literature—yet perhaps only a great childsumming up and transmitting into poetry all the passionate aspirations of an America that h... Read more

Walt Whitman, poet and American original, is many things to many different people. To some he is quite simply the "country's national poet," as a contributor for the Economist declared on the hundredt... Read more

Walt Whitman did not aspire to be a literary critic, yet in the course of his career he did review the works of a large number of writers ranging from the ancient classicists to his contemporaries. In... Read more

In the following essay, Cavitch discusses Whitman's attempt to come to terms with his father's death and with his mother's self-centeredness in his “Song of the Broad-Axe.&... Read more

In the following essay, Dean explores Whitman's difficulty in coming to a conclusion and facing temporality as evidenced in his poetry, noting that he does finally succeed in accepting endings ... Read more

In the following essay, Fast examines Whitman's Sea-Drift poems as a whole, focusing on how their organization within the larger Leaves of Grass helps to develop the overall themes of self-expl... Read more

In the following essay, Folsom contends that, throughout Whitman's life and work, the poet maintained an ambivalent attitude toward Native Americans. Folsom notes that American "aborigin... Read more

In the following essay, Fone offers an overview of how the homoeroticism in Whitman's work has been interpreted by critics over time. Fone maintains that when Whitman criticism has been centere... Read more

In the following essay, Dougherty assesses Whitman 's Drum-Taps, maintaining that while the poetry in the volume is similar in some ways to Whitman's pre-Civil War poetry, Drum-Taps also... Read more

Walt Whitman Walt Whitman was considered one of the greatest 19th century poet. His poetry was mainly idealistic and romantic. He rejected the normal rhythm of writing poetry and wrote in free ver... Read more

Plague "Make money your god and it will plague you like the devil." - Henry Fielding. Plague in the time of Walt Whitman was common due to the lack of technology and medicine. Beat! Beat! Drums! P... Read more

Walt Whitman, mysticism Walt Whitman was unlike any poet before. One of the most unique characteristics of his poetry was the spirituality that shines through and lends some sort of soul, or bit o... Read more

The time of Romanticism brought upon many trends extending from the idea of individualism as a rebellious separation from the classics, an idealistic outlook and finally to a strong religious base. M... Read more

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are jointly responsible for the evolution of rigid poetry of the 19th century into what today is called modern American poetry. While Whitman led a very extroverted l... Read more

Walt Whitman According to the critics, Walt Whitman is one of America's most inspiring and imaginative poets. Taking ordinary thoughts, Whitman develops ingenious and beautiful stanzas that capture ... Read more