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 of himself to all of his poetry. Much of that spirituality can be attributed to the fact that Whitman was a Mystic. Mysticism "the practice of putting oneself into, and remaining in, direct relation with God, the Absolute, or any unifying principle of life." Mysticism would have given Whitman a distinctive on death, on dying, and the hereafter, which he openly addresses in many of his poems.

. There are two basic schools of mystics: Some believe God as abides within each soul and is "to be found by delving deeper into one's own reality." The other school of thought separates God from the soul, which "rises" to its God by ascending stages. I believe that...