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WALT WHITMAN

Explore the journey of the American hero in Whitman's epic poem collection, celebrating diversity, equality, and the beauty of life and death. Discover the literary devices that make his work unique.

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WALT WHITMAN

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  1. WALT WHITMAN 1819-1892

  2. Major Work • Leaves of Grass • Published 1st edition in 1855 • Little or no interest from literary community until Whitman sent a copy to Ralph Waldo Emerson • Revised and republished 8 times (9 total versions) • Last edition published in 1891 (one year before Whitman’s death)

  3. Leaves of Grass • Whitman was the first American poet NOT to copy the themes, styles, and subjects of European poets • Early influences • Sir Walter Scott • Italian Opera • Shakespeare • Bible • Epic poems of Greeks (The Iliad, The Odyssey)

  4. Leaves of Grass • Whitman considered this collection of poems an EPIC POEM • Epic: a long narrative poem which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society. • WHO IS THE HERO OF LEAVES OF GRASS? • The poet, as an American “Everyman” • Saw himself as a model for all Americans • Looked toward and embraced the progress of the future rather than the past • WHAT IS THE JOURNEY OF THE HERO? • The journey of the American experience--LIFE

  5. Leaves of Grass • JOURNEY OF THE HERO IN LEAVES OF GRASS • Chapter 1: Song of Myself • Speaker is a solitary individual • “I celebrate myself and sing myself” • Final Chapter in 9th edition: Gathered Leaves • Speaker has become identified with every element in the universe, and in death, will be reborn as something divine • “NOW, dearest comrade, lift me to your face, We must separate awhile—Here! take from my lips this kiss. Whoever you are, I give it especially to you; So long!—And I hope we shall meet again.”

  6. Leaves of Grass • Themes in Leaves of Grass • America/The American Experience • America’s diversity • “I Hear America Singing”, Children of Adam • America’s Pain • Drumtaps, Ashes of Soldiers, President Lincoln’s Burial Hymn • America’s growth • Song of Myself

  7. Leaves of Grass • THEMES (cont) • Immortality of the soul • The love of comrades/friends • Equality of all people • Beauty of death • Sacredness of the self and individual

  8. Leaves of Grass • Literary Devices used by Whitman • Free Verse: Poetry that is written without regard for rhyme or meter • Imagery: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory • Catalog: long lists of related things people or events • Anaphora/parallel structure: repetition of the same or similar words, phrases, clauses or sentences • Alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance • Cadence: the natural, rhythmic rise and fall of language as it is normally spoken • Ignores meter and relies on the poet’s own sense of spacing and timing

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