Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson

Two of the greatest American poets of the 19th century!

Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman• personality - sociable and gregarious. He was

a traveler.• expectations - wanted his message to be

carried to the world.• famous - during his lifetime (Leaves of Grass

published in 1855.)• poetic style

- public spokesman of the masses- prophet of progress- extravagant with words and careless with repetition and self-contradiction

• personality - sociable and gregarious. He was a traveler.

• expectations - wanted his message to be carried to the world.

• famous - during his lifetime (Leaves of Grass published in 1855.)

• poetic style - public spokesman of the masses- prophet of progress- extravagant with words and careless with repetition and self-contradiction

Walt WhitmanWalt Whitman- used long lists (catalogues)- used “cadence” (the long easy sweep of sound that echoes the

Bible and speeches of orators and preachers.)- often wrote in free verse (no rhyme or meter)

• importance - model for 20th century poets (public)

• personal life – born in May 1819– at the age of twelve, Whitman began to learn the printer's trade– at the age of 17, he began his career as teacher in a one-room

school house in Long Island– continued to teach until 1841 and then turned to journalism as a

full-time career– struggled to support himself through most of his life– at the outbreak of the Civil War, Whitman vowed to live a

"purged" and "cleansed" life– died in March 1892

- used long lists (catalogues)- used “cadence” (the long easy sweep of sound that echoes the

Bible and speeches of orators and preachers.)- often wrote in free verse (no rhyme or meter)

• importance - model for 20th century poets (public)

• personal life – born in May 1819– at the age of twelve, Whitman began to learn the printer's trade– at the age of 17, he began his career as teacher in a one-room

school house in Long Island– continued to teach until 1841 and then turned to journalism as a

full-time career– struggled to support himself through most of his life– at the outbreak of the Civil War, Whitman vowed to live a

"purged" and "cleansed" life– died in March 1892

Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson• personality - very shy and a recluse• expectations - message was to die in oblivion • famous - after her death• poetic style

– found in nature a metaphor for the spirit and recorded them with no thought for an audience

– wrote with precision of a diamond cutter– meticulous focus on diction (choice of words)– aimed to evoke the feelings of things rather than

simply to name them– economical technique– uses rhyme and meter

• personality - very shy and a recluse• expectations - message was to die in oblivion • famous - after her death• poetic style

– found in nature a metaphor for the spirit and recorded them with no thought for an audience

– wrote with precision of a diamond cutter– meticulous focus on diction (choice of words)– aimed to evoke the feelings of things rather than

simply to name them– economical technique– uses rhyme and meter

Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson• Importance - model for 20th century poets (private)

• Personal life– Lived a life of self imposed seclusion in her family’s home after

college (gradual shift to secluded life)– Born December 1830 in Massachusetts– Family was a pillar in the community (politically active family)– was a bright and intelligent student as a child– father was very strict; he censored her reading (“Whitman too

inappropriate”)– was a descendent of early Puritan settlers (religion important)– Emerson had a great influence on her writing– wrote over 1,700 poems and many letters– died at the age of 55 from Bight’s disease, which is caused by kidney

degeneration– after her death her sister found a boxful of Emily’s poems and letters– First set of Dickinson’s poems published by her sister (Vinnie) and

family friend (Mabel) in 1893

• Importance - model for 20th century poets (private)

• Personal life– Lived a life of self imposed seclusion in her family’s home after

college (gradual shift to secluded life)– Born December 1830 in Massachusetts– Family was a pillar in the community (politically active family)– was a bright and intelligent student as a child– father was very strict; he censored her reading (“Whitman too

inappropriate”)– was a descendent of early Puritan settlers (religion important)– Emerson had a great influence on her writing– wrote over 1,700 poems and many letters– died at the age of 55 from Bight’s disease, which is caused by kidney

degeneration– after her death her sister found a boxful of Emily’s poems and letters– First set of Dickinson’s poems published by her sister (Vinnie) and

family friend (Mabel) in 1893