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Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. The Romantic Poets. They are considered to be the two greatest poets of the nineteenth century! Be curious, not judgmental. Whitman If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain: Dickinson. 1819-1892. Walt Whitman.
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Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson The Romantic Poets
They are considered to be the two greatest poets of the nineteenth century! Be curious, not judgmental. WhitmanIf I can stop one heart from breaking,I shall not live in vain: Dickinson
1819-1892 Walt Whitman
Background • He came from a large family (seven brothers and sisters) • Had the opportunity to live in both a country setting and the city of New York (Brooklyn) • He attended school until he was eleven, then worked as a printer’s assistant and a teacher
Background • Worked in journalism until the age of thirty • Moved to New Orleans to continue journalism • Eventually returned to New York as a journalist and part-time carpenter/contractor. • He kept journals and diaries that became the basis for much of his literary work.
Poetry • Based on cadence, which is the long, easy sweep of sound that echoes the Bible and the speeches or orators and preachers. • Cadence was the base for free verse, which is poetry without rhyme or meter. • In 1855, he published his most important collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. He revised it nine times before his death in 1892.
O captain! my captain! our fearful trip is done;The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the stead keel, the vessel grim and daring. Walt’s Style • Frequently uses catalogs– the piling up of images or concrete details • Example from “Song of Myself” “My tongue, every atom of my blood, formed from this soil, this air/Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same” (lines 6-7)
Style • His catalogs here represent the spiritual unity among all forms of being. • He frequently uses parallelism—the repeated use of phrases, clauses, or sentences that are similar in structure or meaning. • Use of parallelism helps to create a sense of unity within his poetry and it also provides a structure, creates a rhythm, and emphasizes important ideas.
Style • Uses free verse– verse that has irregular meter and line length • Whitman was the first American poet to use free verse. • His use of free verse allowed him to express himself without restraint
We never know how high we areTill we are called to rise;And then, if we are true to plan,Our statures touch the skies. Emily Dickinson 1830-1886 Hope is a thing with feathersThat perches in the soul,And sings the tune without wordsAnd never stops at all.
Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes. Background • Born into a wealthy New England family and had a happy childhood. Everyone assumed she would grow up to marry and have a family. • At 24, her father took her on a business trip to separate Emily from a drastic situation…she had fallen in love with a married man she could never marry. Beauty is not caused. It is.
Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell. Background • Ironically, while on the trip, she fell in love with another married man, Charles Wadsworth, a Presbyterian minister. She was once again separated from the man she loved. • She then withdrew from all social life except involving her family.
Emily alone! • Within a few years, Emily was dressing in all white and lived in total seclusion. • Her only activities included writing her poems and household chores.
Emily’s Poetry • She only printed a handful of her poems during her lifetime. • However, she made sure that she left bundles of her poems to be found after her death. • Family and friends edited her poems and published them in numerous installments. • Her poems were brief and contained brilliant metaphors.
Emily’s Style • Uses unconventional punctuation and capitalization • Most of her lines and stanzas are very brief • Most of her poetry is writing in quatrains • Usually, only the second and fourth lines in her quatrains rhyme. • She often uses slant or partial rhymes. • She has a tendency to use figurative language to convey her ideas.