The Romantic Poets
WALT WHITMAN AND EMILY DICKINSON
WALT WHITMAN
1819-1892
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 thirtyMoved 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.
BACKGROUND
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.
POETRY
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.
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)
WALT’S 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
STYLE
1830-1886EMILY DICKINSON
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.
Hope is a thing with feathersThat perches in the soul,And sings the tune without wordsAnd never stops at all.
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.
BACKGROUND
Beauty is not caused. It is.
Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes.
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.
BACKGROUND
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 ALONE!
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 POETRY
Uses unconventional punctuation and capitalization
Most of her lines and stanzas are very briefMost of her poetry is writing in quatrainsUsually, 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.
EMILY’S STYLE
