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WALT WHITMAN

WALT WHITMAN. 1819-1892. Major Work. Leaves of Grass Published 1 st 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)

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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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