Compare Dickinson and Whitman Religion
Kayla Buzzeo
3/25/15
Professor Cotsell
Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson both wrote poetry that challenged the
traditional Christian sense of God. In the Christian sense, God is the almighty, the
creator of heaven and earth. He is an all powerful being who is to be feared, loved,
and worshipped. Whitman and Dickinson both dismiss this idea and give more
power back to the individual. Dickinson goes as far as to claim that humans and
‘God’ are equal in some ways. Whitman, on the other hand, believes that all humans
have the same power as God and that our world is just as good, if not better then
what God has to offer. Whitman and Dickinson both challenge Christianity but in
different ways and for different reasons. Whitman takes on the persona of a God
figure in his poem “Song to Myself” and directly challenges other Christian
ideology’s beliefs. Both have new and exciting challenging points of view.
Walt Whitman has one of the most interesting takes on religion and
spirituality for a poet in the 1800s. Whitman was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY as
a Quaker. “The Quakers believed that they had direct and immediate access to God,
and believed that all other sources of religious understanding are inessential and
subordinate, including scriptures, church authority, tradition, reason, and formal
religious education” (Quakers). While he was raised as a Quaker, Whitman went on
to formulate his own ideal and belief structure. Whereas Quakers viewed all people
as priests, including women, Whitman exceeded this creating a system with himself
as the centerpiece. The concept of individuality was central to Whitman’s intense
self-love. In “Song of Myself” Whitman goes onto say in Section 5 “I believe in you
my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you. And you must not be abased to
the other.” Whitman refers to this other as though he is referring to some sort of
celestial being. While he does acknowledge that this being exists, he goes as far to
say that he cannot bring his soul to abase, or lower ones status to this other being.
He clearly believes that they are on par if not of the same importance and holy
significance. Whitman has a God like complex but it is like none I have encountered
before. Whereas most people whom have claimed to have heavenly powers usually
reserve the power to themselves, Whitman goes on to say that all his “brothers” and
“sisters” have these same powers
Whitman’s religious beliefs placed himself, along with his brothers and
sisters, as having all the same powers as God. When examining Whitman’s view on
God, part number 48 in “Song of Myself” is very instrumental. A lot is revealed in
section 48. He starts off the first two lines by holding the body and the soul as equals
“the soul is not more than the body, And I have said that the body is not more than
the soul” (line 1270). This goes against the Christian teachings that the soul is more
important than the body. In the bible the body and soul are discussed “For we know
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle [tent] were dissolved, we have a building
of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1).
The soul will be eternal and will exist in heaven while the body is only important on
earth and is not needed in the heavenly world. Whitman in his next lines further
destroys the idea of the Christian God. He writes “ And nothing, not God, is greater to
one then one’s self is” (line 1271). Whitman puts all the emphasis on one’s self – the
main point of life is to make oneself happy. Whitman embraces himself too much
“nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself” (line 1282).
That line reflects his view of oneself above all. It especially reflects his view of
himself above everyone else. This view clearly differs from Christian teachings.
Christianity teaches one to be humble and that everyone should be regarded as
equals under God. One person is certainly not more ‘wonderful’ than another
person. Whitman through his poetry forms his sort of own religion that has
influences from other religions but at the same time is not like any religion. He
challenges Christianity with every line.
Emily Dickinson was brought up in a Calvinist household and attended
religious services with her family. Dickinson struggled with her traditional beliefs in
Christianity while the new wave of scientific knowledge that was emerging. While
growing up she refused to take part in the religious revival that her friends had
experienced. Her poems offer a profound look into how she believed a Christian God
like the one in the bible to not exist. In her poem, number 1577, she starts off by
challenging the Bible. “The Bible is an antique Volume – written by faded men” (line
1 and 2). She believes that the bible is out of date and irrelevant to present day. She
then goes on the list all the ways in which the bible condemns. Dickinson does not
believe that it is right for the Bible to condemn, “Orpheu’s Sermon captivated – it did
not condemn” (line 14 and 15). It is thought that in Greek Mythology Orpheus
would play music that would ‘transfix’ beasts. Why must the Bible condemn while
Orpheu’s Sermon dealt with evil creatures and it still did not condemn. She also
refers to God as Jealous. Jealousy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins and she convicts
God of this sin. In her poem “God is Indeed a Jealous God” Dickinson writes “God is
indeed a jealous God – /He cannot bear to see/ That we had rather not with Him/
But with each other play. I do not know what events have caused Emily Dickinson to
write this poem but this is a very extreme step for her to take. She accuses God of
being jealous of the human race because we enjoy earth too much and act in ways
that makes it seem as if we do not care about the blessing of Heaven. Dickinson
herself through her poems further upholds these ideas that she does not want to go
to Heaven, Earth is more then fine for her.
Unlike Whitman who sort of created his own religion, Dickinson is on a quest
to fully understand her religious thoughts and feelings. I feel as though Dickinson
always wanted to believe in an omnipotent God but could not because she felt failed
by God. I feel as though she has never really felt appreciated as a person and was
sort of a loner. She projected her feelings into her poetry which has angry and
sarcastic undertones sometimes. In poem number 202 she writes “’Faith” is a fine
invention for Gentlemen who see! But Microscopes are prudent in and Emergency!”
She discusses faith as an invention and puts quotations around the word faith. This
gives off an irritated vibe. Dickinson then goes on to say that faith works well until
someone becomes ill and they turn to science to be saved. She is being sarcastic,
where is the faith that? She mocks the people who go to church and worship their
faith but then turn to science to cure them. Do they not have faith in God anymore to
cure them? In her poem number 236 she mocks at the idea of going to church.
Dickinson has her own way of worshiping and keeping the Sabbath “I keep it,
staying at Home” (line 2). She rather be outside in her garden then in church. She is
not seeking out Heaven – she is content with her life on earth. She finds her sense of
God in nature. Dickinson mainly struggles with the idea of the afterlife. She rejects
the biblical God but is reluctant to dismiss the idea of the afterlife in Heaven. This
relates back to her poem in which she refers to God as a Jealous God because people
enjoy earth and nature too much to care about Heaven.
As previously stated, Dickinson and Whitman both challenge the traditional
molds of Christianity. They both however have different reasons for doing so.
Whitman is very arrogant. I believe that wants to show the world his intelligence by
going against the grain and challenging Christianity. On the other hand Emily
Dickinson comes from the heart. Dickinson feels cheated out of some things in life
and rejects the Christian God because if he did exist she cannot fathom why certain
things in her life have occurred or why she feels certain ways.