Walt Whitman is considered one of America's most influential poets. Many of his works celebrated democracy, nature, and love. Whitman’s work aimed to mirror the potential freedoms to be found in America through traditional epics. His love for America and its democracy can be attributed to his upbringing and his parents. During this time, the topic of change was uppermost in Whitman’s mind as the America of the 1850s drifted inexorably towards civil war. The America Walt Whitman lived in was desperately fractured amongst differing factions and his stories seized the attention of the people who were rebuilding the country.
In 1855, Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass and was inspired in part by his travels through the American frontier. The poem “I Hear America Singing” appeared in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass and is all about American pride. Whitman describes the voices of Americans tirelessly working away at their jobs. “Those of mechanics, each one singing his …show more content…
Whitman’s poetry used language to try to unify a Union drifting apart. He believed language could preserve cultural values through stories. His main purpose was to display the hearts and minds of the country’s citizens, showing their participation in the flow of natural evolution.
In Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” he celebrates himself. The poem explains his appreciation for nature and how much he loves the world. “I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass” (Whitman lines 1-5). He expresses that everything is exactly where it is suppose to be and everything is good to him. The poem doesn't only display nature characteristics but it is also described as a "democratic"
In 1855, Whitman self-published Leaves of Grass and was inspired in part by his travels through the American frontier. The poem “I Hear America Singing” appeared in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass and is all about American pride. Whitman describes the voices of Americans tirelessly working away at their jobs. “Those of mechanics, each one singing his …show more content…
Whitman’s poetry used language to try to unify a Union drifting apart. He believed language could preserve cultural values through stories. His main purpose was to display the hearts and minds of the country’s citizens, showing their participation in the flow of natural evolution.
In Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” he celebrates himself. The poem explains his appreciation for nature and how much he loves the world. “I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass” (Whitman lines 1-5). He expresses that everything is exactly where it is suppose to be and everything is good to him. The poem doesn't only display nature characteristics but it is also described as a "democratic"