Walt Whitman 1819 1892 presentation adapted from Prentice

Walt Whitman 1819 -1892 *presentation adapted from Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience

“America’s Poet” v “The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he absorbed it. ” –Walt Whitman, preface to Leaves of Grass v Although his poetry was not as popular as he would have liked it to be during his lifetime, Whitman is currently recognized as one of America’s most gifted poets. v “Uncle Walt”

Whitman’s Career v Born on Long Island in 1819 v Raised in Brooklyn v Became editor of the Brooklyn Eagle when he was 27 years old v Fired in 1848 because of his outspoken disdain and opposition to slavery v Worked for a newspaper in New Orleans and travelled the country, noting the diversity of America’s geography and people. v 1850—gives up journalism to exclusively write poetry

Leaves of Grass v Poetry anthology first published in 1855 v Ralph Waldo Emerson called it “the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed” v However, poet John Greenleaf Whittier hated it so much that he he threw his copy of the book into the fireplace

Whitman’s Poetry v Whitman continually revised and expanded Leaves of Grass for the rest of his life v An “evolving vision of the world” v Poetry focuses on: v Democracy v Equality v The “spiritual unity of all forms of life” v The “potential of the human spirit” v He had a “unique ability to absorb and comprehend everything he observed”

Styles and Techniques v style- the manner in which a writer puts his or her thoughts into words v catalogs- the piling up of images or concrete details Ex: “My tongue, every atom of my blood, formed from this soil, this air / Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same” (“Song of Myself”) v parallelism- use of similar grammatical structures to create rhythm, provide structure, and emphasize ideas v free verse- verse that has irregular meter and line length (Whitman is the first American poet to use free verse)

Famous Poems v A fan of Abraham Lincoln: v “O Captain! My Captain!” v “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” v Not a fan of the Civil War: v “Beat! Drums!” v Other poems: v “Song of Myself” v “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

“O Captain! My Captain!” v April 9, 1865: Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Civil War v April 14, 1865: Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth during a performance at Ford’s Theater v 1865: Walt Whitman writes “O Captain! My Captain!” after Lincoln’s death v extended metaphor- a sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors