1.
Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were poets of great originality and intense emotion.
Yet in temperament and life style they were almost exactly opposite. What do Whitman’s and
Dickinson’s poems suggest about the sources of poetic inspiration? Where do they suggest
the truly imaginative life can be found? What do you think made the poetry of these writers
so fresh and original?
Both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were poets of great originality and intense emotion. Yet
in temperament and life style they were almost exactly opposite. Although Emily Dickinson and
Walt Whitman lived totally different lives, some of their sources of poetic inspiration are the same.
As we know that Emily Dickinson liked staying along, while Walt Whitman was a sociable man.
They approached death as a main theme,they remaining unruffled in the face of death
phenomenon. Both of them were dealing with the idea of religion, linking it with the subject of
death, being known that, at that time,Romantic era, the religion was considered obsolete. Except
that, The "sunbeam" that illuminated a great deal of Whitman's poetry was Music. It was one of
the major sources of his inspiration. Many of his four hundred poems contain musical terms,
names of instruments, and names of composers. Although Whitman borrows from his own
autobiography for some of the speaker’s experiences, he also borrows many experiences from
popular works of art, music, and literature.Another important source for both of them is nature.
Walt Whitman was one of the great naturalists and Romantic writers in American along with
thoreau, and he actually belonged to a commune. Emily Dickinson even could write poem through
the image of a fly to express her understanding of death. Although their works were unique and
original, impossible to imitate, however subjects they focused on, were the same.
Then, where do they suggest the truly imaginative life can be found?Both Emily Dickinson’s and
Walt Whitman’s poems present the idea that life is a continuous and constant circle and that no
one is ever really dead as long as he is remembered. Each also suggests that Earth is a living thing
which all humans are a piece of in both life and death. They considered that the truly imaginative
life should be found in nature and lives.
I think there are 5 points to make these two poets’ works so fresh and original. First, they care
about death and immortality. It is said that 1/3 of all Emily Dickinson’s poems talked about
religion and death. Second, they are skilled in exploring human’s inner world. Third, they liked to
use original images. Forth, they always write in direct and plain language. The last, within the
little lyrics they wrote about some of the most important things in life: love, nature, morality and
immortality.