User:CamernBryan/sandbox

Cameron Cox's Leaves of Grass article for ENGL2131.01

Analysis of Article

1. The page does a good job of telling/showing how adamant Whitman was about going back over and revising "Leaves of Grass", but it fails at explaining the materiel itself and what Whitman was trying to do with his poems. The page merely gives a description of his many publications of the book.
2. Also need explanation of his techniques he used throughout his poetry, such as rhyme scheme and meter.

Reading List

• Miller, James E Jr. (1957). A Critical Guide to Leaves of Grass.
• Baym, Nina, & Robert S Levine. (2012). Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol B.
• Briggs, Arthur E. (1968). Walt Whitman Thinker and Artist.
• Allen, Gay Wilson. (1970). A Reader's Guide to Walt Whitman.
• Blair, Walter, Giles, James R., & Morris Dickstein. (2015). American Literature.

Original

Particularly in Song of Myself, Whitman emphasized an all-powerful "I" who serves as narrator. The "I" tries to relieve both social and private problems by using powerful affirmative cultural images.[25] The emphasis on American culture helped reach Whitman's intention of creating a distinctly American epic poem comparable to the works of Homer.[26] Originally written at a time of significant urbanization in America, Leaves of Grass responds to the impact urbanization has on the masses.[27] However, the title metaphor of grass indicates a pastoral vision of rural idealism. The poem When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd is Whitman's elegy to Lincoln after his death.

Revised

Particularly in Song of Myself, Whitman emphasized an all-powerful "I" who serves as narrator. This narrator serves as a way of personalizing the poems to the reader, and helps to further immerse them into the nature depicted in Whitman's works. The "I" tries to relieve both social and private problems by using powerful affirmative cultural images. [25] It also helps to understand that he relied heavily on introspection throughout his work. The emphasis on American culture helped reach Whitman's intention of creating a distinctly American epic poem comparable to the works of Homer.[26] Originally written at a time of significant urbanization in America, Leaves of Grass responds to the impact urbanization has on the masses.[27] However, the title metaphor of grass indicates a pastoral vision of rural idealism. Whitman writes of nature and simple times, yet there is always an underlying truth to it all. The poem When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd is Whitman's elegy to Lincoln after his death.

Style & Form

Walt Whitman 's style of form and structure was uncommon among writers of his time. His prosody is usually labeled "free verse" but all this term tells us is that the poem is not in Rhyme and meter. His verse was free in this sense. By not containing himself to come up with rhyming, on beat poem, Whitman was able to express himself like no poet had before. "Not only did he find self-expression in the act of poetic expression; the form itself was expressive." This type of expression allowed Whitman to explore many different kinds of subject matter in his poems, as his main focus was always "the self". The poet wanted to truly share his introspective experiences with the world, to show them not to be shameful of themselves. "The self is not, as in the traditional mystical experience, submerged or annihilated, but rather celebrated; the sense are not humbled but glorified". Whitman not only calls into question the freedom of the self, but at the same time letting the reader experience the poem however they choose. By touching on such a subject such as individual freedom, he is able to get away with his free-verse, flowing poems. He was free to let loose all of his inner thoughts and ideals, without being constrained to a specific form or layout. "The greatest poet has less a marked style and is more the channel of thoughts and things without increase or diminution".