Charles Whitman

In 1831, at the age of twelve, Walt Whitman began working for his local newspaper. He soon fell in love with the written word and started writing his own poetry (“Poet Walt Whitman”). Fast forward to the turn of the 20th century, and Whitman has already made a name for himself as one of America’s most influential poets. Two of Whitman’s most esteemed works are “O Captain! My Captain!”, written in 1865 to reflect on Abraham Lincoln's death, and “O Me! O Life!”, written in 1891 to contemplate…

was a powerful way to express his feelings toward his hobby. Similarly, Walt Whitman wrote the poems “O Me! O Life!” and “O Captain! My Captain!” to express how he was feeling when he wrote each poem. “O Captain! My Captain!” is an elegy written in remembrance of Abraham Lincoln. However, according to Shenandoah Literary, “O Me! O Life!” represents how “As he trudges through his self-doubts and a changing culture, Whitman remembers the continental nature of life and his role in it.” This…

young man weeps for his captain’s death. Whitman is writing about Abraham Lincoln after he died, Whitman in deep grief and mourning. He captures the funeral of the captain by alluding to Lincoln and soldiers, the grief of someone who is close, changes the tone to match the people and himself, and captures the essence of the United States of America, all as an honor to his favorite president. Whitman has a double meaning in his poem. Later in the poem, Whitman writes, “for you the flag is…

“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” which is written based on prior experience, presents two different views based around focusing on how people understand certain material. These perspectives are exhibited through a class lecture on astronomy. Whitman wrote this poem based on prior experience. The poem begins with the speaker sitting through an astronomy lecture taught by an astronomer. The lesson focuses on scientific facts and mathematical figures. The information is arranged in proofs,…

going to be stuck in this lonely desert island. I could only save one book The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson or the Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman? What a hard choice to pick especially since both books are so amazing and exceptional. Well my choices are limited, but sadly I would save the Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I choose Whitman’s book because his writing is blunt, also Whitman’s topics are more intriguing, and his poems will be helpful considering it will help…

The first poem I am going to talk about is called “I hear America singing” written by Walt Whitman. The second poem is called “Let America be America again” by Langston Hughes. These two poems have a few similarities that I am going to talk about. The first similarity is that both of these poems themes are centered towards the main idea of America and the american dream. These poems talk about how the american dream is all based upon opportunity. The main similarity that caught my eye is where…

Walt Whitman conveys the concepts of the “vast similitude” and nonlinear time to show the connection between humans. In “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” and various other poems, poet Walt Whitman portrays the idea of the “vast similitude.” The vast similitude can be defined as the traits shared between people. In addition to the vast similitude, Whitman strategically uses the concept of nonlinear time in his poetry, an idea that the past, present, and future are all connected. The idea of nonlinear…

Some may argue that people interact with nature in an overall positive way because of the poem titled, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman, and how it shows that humans interact with nature in a positive way. However, when people do interact with nature, it is usually in a negative way and they tend to take the Earth and all it has to offer for granted, as shown in “My Life as a Bat” by Margaret Atwood, because people's feelings for bats are almost always negative, as well as…

In Leaves of Grass, Whitman often exhibits the ideals of the Transcendental Club, for example he says, " All truths wait in all things, they neither hasten their own delivery nor resist it, they do not need the obstetric forceps of the surgeon, the insignificant is as big to me as any, what is less or more than a touch" (Whitman 61). In keeping with transcendentalist beliefs, Whitman incorporates the idea of all mankind, whether they be rich or poor…

Then, just when Whitman thought his luck had turned and Leaves of Grass started selling well, his publisher went bankrupt and someone stole the printing plates of the third edition. That printer is believed to have pirated 100,000 copies of the book (“Walt Whitman”, 1998). Indeed, Whitman’s poetry did not gain much fame until after his death, but towards the end of his life he gained recognition in Europe (“Walt Whitman”, 2002). Nevertheless, “in the years following Whitman’s death, Leaves of…