WALT WHITMAN May 31 1819 March 26 1892

WALT WHITMAN (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)

BIO • Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, on the West Hills of Long Island, New York. • His mother, whom he adored, was barely literate. She never read his poetry, but gave him unconditional love. • His father was a carpenter and builder of houses, and a stern disciplinarian. • At the age of twelve he started to learn the printer's trade.

CONTINUED • In 1836, at the age of 17, Walt began his career as a teacher. • He taught school until 1841. • He became editor for a number of Brooklyn and New York papers. • Between 1848 and 1855 he developed the style of poetry that astonished Ralph Waldo Emerson. • Walt Whitman passed away on March 26, 1892, at the age of 72.

STYLE OF POETRY • Whitman had an ear for inner rhythms. • He articulated in the radically free, rolling, thrusting verses. • Largely self-taught. • Relied on both his innate musicality and his experience as a music journalist to formulate aesthetic principles that would carry over into his poetry.

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN sit, or move to and fro--some old, some young; The young are beautiful--but the old are more beautiful than the young.

MUSIC • There is only one song that I can think of that fits best with Walt Whitman’s poem “Beautiful Women” and that is “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. Click here to listen

RESOURCES • http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Walt_Whitman • http: //www. poemhunter. com/poem/beautiful-women/