WaltWhitman(1819-1892)Icelebratemyself,andsingmyself,AndwhatIassumeyoushallassume,Foreveryatombelongingtomeasgoodbelongstoyou

ExcerptfromSongofMyselfLifeBorn:31May1819Birthplace:LongIsland,NewYork.Died:26March1892Borninaworking-classfamily,sonofacarpenterAtfour,familymovedtoBrooklyn,NewYorkAttendedpublicschoolApprenticedtoaprinterReturnedtoLongIslandin1835andtaughtincountryschoolsEditedanewspaper,theLong-Islander,inHuntingtonBacktoNewYorkCitytoworkasaprinterandjournalistExperiencedvariousjobsBeganwritinganewkindofpoetry(freeverse)Whitman'sdemocraticideals&individualismAmerica’sfirst“poetofdemocracy”Whitman'sdemocraticideasgovernhispoetry-writing.Inhisfamouspoetry,openness,freedom,andaboveall,individualism(thebeliefthattherightsandfreedomofindividualpeoplearemostimportant)areallthatconcernedhim.Whitmanbringsthehard-workingfarmersandlaborersintoAmericanliterature,attacktheslaverysystemandracialdiscrimination.ThethemesinWhitman'spoetryfilledwithoptimisticexpectationandenthusiasmaboutnewthingsandnewepoch.Thewholehard-workingpeopleTheburgeoninglifeofcities.Thefastgrowthofindustryandwealthincities2.IndividualvaluePursuitofloveandhappinessSexualloveTheindividualpersonandhisdesiresmustberespected.America’sfirst“poetofdemocracy”WaltWhitmanwasanAmerican

poet,essayist,journalist,andhumanist.Proclaimedthe"greatestofallAmericanpoets"bymanyforeignobserversamerefouryearsafterhisdeath.HisLeavesofGrasshasalwaysbeenconsideredamonumentalwork.ItcommandsgreatattentionbecauseofitsuniquelypoeticembodimentofAmericandemocraticideals.Heisthepoetofthecommonpeopleandtheprophetandsingerofdemocracy.InfluenceInfluencesthe20thcenturyworldliterature:

Hisworksispartofwesternculture/manypoetsinFrance,Italy,England,andLatinAmericaareinhisdebt.HispoetryalsoinfluencesmodernAmericanpoetssuchasPound,T.S.Eliot,HartCrane,CarlSandburg.Thefirstpersonnarrator:“I”thesubjectinthepoem,“you”thereaderInvitesustoparticipateintheprocessofsympatheticidentification.Style:freeverseImportantFeaturesinWhitman’sPoemsNofixedrhymeandschemeAlooserandopen-endedsyntacticalstructureThehabitofusingsnapshots（快照）UseofconversationalimageStrongtendencytouseoralEnglishVocabulary-powerful,colorful,rarely-usedwordsofforeignorigin,wrongwordsSentences-differentlengths,disturbed,separateRhymearhythmofthoughtcadencesofhisfeelingParallelismTorepeattheideainthelineswithminorchangesinwording(thelineistherhythmicalunit)PhoneticrecurrenceRepetitionofthefirstwordsandphrasesworks

LeavesofGrass

SongsofMyselfTherewasaChildWentforthIhearAmericasiningDrumTapsLeavesofGrassWhitman’soriginalityfirstinhisuseofthepoeticformfreeverse(i.e.poetrywithoutafixedbeatorregularrhymescheme)Thefirstversionofhismasterpiece,LeavesofGrass,appearedin1855.EmersonpraisedWhitman’spoetryas“themostextraordinarypieceofwitandwisdomthatAmericahasyettocontribute.”LeavesofGrassWaltWhitmanhasdevotedallhislifetothecreationofthe“single”poem,LeavesofGrass.Theworkhasnineeditions.Inthisgiantwork,openness,freedom,andindividualismareallthatconcernedhim.Hispurposeistoexpresssomenewpoeticalfeelingsandtoinitiateapoetictraditioninwhichdifference

shouldberecognized.Hewantedtobehaveasasupremeindividualist.LeavesofGrassMostofthepoemsinLeavesofGrass

singofthe“en-masse”andtheselfaswell.Whitmanalsogivesemphasistothephysicaldimensionoftheselfandopenlycelebratessexuality.Pursuitofloveandhappinessisapprovedofrepeatedlyaffectionatelyinhislines.Iftwopersonsarereallyinlove,“whatistouswhattherestdoorthink?”Theindividualpersonandhisdesires

mustberespected.Obviously,Whitman’ssexualthemesarebeyondthephysical.SongofMyselfSongofMyselfwasoriginallypublishedinthe1855editionofLeavesofGrassinwhichitwasthefirstoftwelvepoems.Atthetimethispoemwasuntitled,in1881Whitmangavethepoemitsfinalname:SongofMyself.InSongofMyself,Whitmanbelievedthattwopeoplecouldbe“twainyetone”,theirpathscouldbedifferent,andyettheycouldachieveakindoftranscendentcontact.SongofMyselfisahistoryofthepoet’smovementfromloafingindividualtoactivespirit.DrumTapsInMay1865WaltbeganprintinghisCivilWarliterature,entitledDrum-Taps.

SomeofWhitman’spoemsarepoliticalcommitted.BeforeandduringtheCivilWar,hestoodfirmlyonthesideoftheNorth.DrumTapsDrum