Walt Whitman

1. Walt Whitman A master of free verse

2. A Timeline.. • Walt Whitman was born on May 31st, 1819 in West Hills, New York. • The Whitman family moved to Brooklyn, New York on May 27th, 1823. • Whitman attended public school until 1830, when he dropped out and took a job in an office. The Whitman family had many financial struggles which forced Walt Whitman to work at the age of eleven. • In 1831, Whitman began an apprenticeship for the Brooklyn Patriot. • In 1841, Whitman moved to New York City to work for papers like the New World and Aurora. • Whitman published his first short stories: Death in the School Room and Franklin Evans in 1842. • Whitman published the first, second and third editions of Leaves of Grass between 1855 and 1860. The poetry books contained excellent examples of blank verse, a technique mastered by the poet. • In 1868, Whitman’s popularity spread across the pond when his book of poems was published in England. • Whitman continued to write after a stroke in 1873. • Whitman published his final edition of Leaves of Grass in 1891 after suffering from a second stroke in 1888. This ninth edition is known as “The Deathbed Edition.” • Walt Whitman died on March 26th, 1892 in New Jersey.

3. Influence and Inspirations • George Whitman, Walt’s brother, was wounded in the Civil War. Walt Whitman traveled to Virginia to aid and comfort his brother. Whitman was so alarmed by the brutalities he witnessed that he decided to volunteer as an unofficial nurse for the Union Army. These experiences influenced much of his writing. His group of war poems called Drum Taps included to poems about Lincoln, the most famous being O, Captain! My Captain! • Whitman inspired writers from Dracula’s Bram Stoker to poet Allen Ginsberg. • Whitman was also a close friend of Emerson, and the two sought inspiration from each other.

4. O Captain! My Captain! • O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; • The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; • The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, • While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring: • But O heart! heart! heart! 5 • O the bleeding drops of red, • Where on the deck my Captain lies, • Fallen cold and dead. • O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; • Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills; 10 • For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding; • For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; • Here Captain! dear father! • This arm beneath your head; • It is some dream that on the deck, 15 • You’ve fallen cold and dead. • My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; • My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; • The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; • From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; 20 • Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! • But I, with mournful tread, • Walk the deck my Captain lies, • Fallen cold and dead.

5. Works Cited • 193. O Captain! My Captain! Bartleby. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. <http://www.bartleby.com/142/193.html>. • I Hear America Singing. Pbs. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/poet/whitman.html>. • Timeline:Walt Whitman. P.dsquareplumbing. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. <http://p.dsquareplumbing.com/whitman/timeline.html>. • Walt Whitman A Brief Chronology. About. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. <http://classiclit.about.com/od/whitmanwalt/a/aa_wwchr.htm>. • Walt Whitman. Famouspeople.com. Web. 28 Feb. 2010. <http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/walt-whitman-29.php>.