Walt Whitman
Emily Dickinson
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In the early 1800’s, American literature was in
the Romantic Period (1800-1855)
Romanticism is characterized by: use of taboo
subjects, appreciation of nature, experimentation
with new forms, and common man/hero.
In 1836, the Transcendentalist movement began.
This overlapped the Romantic movement and
basically took the idea of an appreciation of
nature and went further. Transcendentalists felt
a spiritual connection to nature…literally.
Also, Transcendentalists believed in breaking the
“unjust” laws of society: slavery, women’s rights,
etc.
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Whitman was born in New York (raised in Brooklyn). He
quit school at the age of eleven to help out at home. He
was a printer’s apprentice.
He spent his early years printing and writing. At age 27,
he became editor of The Brooklyn Eagle. However, he
was soon dismissed in 1848 (two years later) because of
his opposition to slavery. Whitman had been writing
editorials for slaves’ freedom…and they said he was
abusing his power.
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Jobless, he decided to travel the country
where he observed the land and different
types of people. He did this for the majority
of two years.
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In 1850, he returned to New York and
decided never to return to printing. He
decided to completely devote himself to
writing poetry.
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In 1855, Whitman published the first edition
of Leaves of Grass. This is one of the most
important publications in American literary
history because it threw out traditional poetry
and rhyme. Whitman introduced new,
unconventional rhyme schemes and meter.
He called it “free verse.”
He incorporated risqué subject matter and
was met with harsh criticism by many literary
critics.
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He thought himself to be the poet to the
“common man.” He devoted much of his
poetry to the “working class hero” of America.
This is truly what he is known for today.
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The Civil War was another HUGE impact on
Whitman. He became one of the official poets
of the Civil War. One of his most famous
poems is “O Captain, My Captain.” Lincoln
was Whitman’s hero. The two never met, but
Lincoln was aware of Whitman’s work and his
contribution to the Civil War. The two did,
however, pass on the street one day…and
Whitman wrote a poem about it.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Whitman a letter of
congratulations and Whitman published it in the
second edition of Leaves of Grass. Emerson became
upset and the two were never friends again.
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For the third edition of Leaves of Grass, Whitman was
paid $1000.00—an unheard of price at the time.
Each time Whitman published Leaves of Grass, he
revised old poems and added new ones. It was a
constant work-in-progress.
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There were nine editions of Leaves of Grass published
in Whitman’s lifetime.
An American Treasure
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Born in Amherst, Mass. Her father was a
lawyer (very active in politics, member of the
House of US Reps.). At times, he was very
tyrannical. Her family consisted of her
brother, Austin, who was two years older than
Emily, and Lavinia, her sister, who was two
years younger.
Her mother suffered a stroke and became an
invalid. The girls took care of her, rarely
leaving her side. She died in 1882.
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Dickinson had a very normal childhood. She
enjoyed cooking, playing and exploring the
countryside.
She remained extremely close to her brother,
Austin. They shared ideas of philosophy,
religion, etc.
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Dickinson’s grandfather established Amherst
Academy and Amherst College.
Amherst is still one of the leading Ivy League
Schools in our nation.
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At age 17, Dickinson entered Mt. Holyoke Female
Seminary- 10 miles from Amherst- she left after
10 months, and this marked the end of her
formal education.
She left because she didn’t agree with all of the
teachings that the school taught. At one point,
during an assembly, they told everyone to STAND
UP if you believe in God. Dickinson didn’t like
the “pressure” of the situation. So she refused to
stand at all. This marks her first act of
independence.
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Dickinson
continued to
educate herself by
reading
Shakespeare,
Hawthorne,
Emerson and the
Bible.
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Contrary to popular belief, Dickinson DID
have friends. She visited them in Boston,
Washington D.C., and even in Philadelphia
Dickinson loved to travel by train and would
write about it later.
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Her father led the family in Bible studies, but
he didn’t join a church until he was 47 years
old (very unusual).
However, she wrote about religion and faith
often in her poetry
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During her mid-thirties, Dickinson completely
withdrew from society. She stayed in
seclusion for over twenty years. She would
visit the yard out back, but that was all.
During the last ten years of her life, she
didn’t leave the house AT ALL (not even the
yard). Doctors examined her from a distance.
Also, strangely, she only wore white during
her last ten years.
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Dickinson shared few of her poems with close
family members (particularly Austin’s wife,
her best friend). She published only 7 poems
during her life.
She was a prolific writer, writing more than
1700 poems in her life.
Her sister found the poems after Dickinson’s
death and published them posthumously.
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Dickinson practiced random capitalization
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She commonly put dashes in her works
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Inventor of slant rhyme
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Common themes: nature, death, love
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Dickinson suffered a mental collapse at age
53 brought on by the death of Austin and her
father during the same year or period.
She regained some of her composure, but
was never the same after that. She died of
natural causes at age 55.