The first American poet. Walt Whitman The first American poet.

Who is Walt Whitman? Born: May 31st, 1819 in West Hills, Long Island The second of nine children (he has three brothers named after American leaders [George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson]) Family has financial difficulty which results in moving around New York quite a bit Begins work after finishing formal schooling at age eleven Whitman is a printer’s apprentice and occasionally writes filler material for the paper

Who is Walt Whitman? After some early work writing articles, editing and publishing newspapers, and writing editorials Whitman decides to move into poetry. He is determined to produce an American Epic and comes up with Leaves of Grass Following the publication of his epic in 1855 he is declared America’s first poet

Leaves of Grass 1855 1856 1860 1867 1872 1876 1881 1892

But why is Whitman the “first American poet”? Whitman is considered the first American poet because he breaks from the traditional style and form of poetry readers were accustomed to. Despite the Revolution and the general ill feelings toward Great Britain, the most widely read literature at the time was still British titles and authors.

Who loves Walt Whitman? Ralph Waldo Emerson, in a letter to Whitman after the first publication of Leaves of Grass, had this to say: “I find [Leaves of Grass] the most extraordinary piece of with & wisdom that America has yet contributed…I greet you at the beginning of a great career, which yet must have had a long foreground somewhere, for such a start.”

Everybody’s Got An Opinion… "...but I confess that I extract no poison from these Leaves - to me they have brought only healing." -Fanny Fern, critic and popular essayist "Foul work" filled with "libidinousness." The Christian Examiner "There are too many persons, who imagine they demonstrate their superiority to their fellows, by disregarding all the politenesses and decencies of life, and, therefore, justify themselves in indulging the vilest imaginings and shamefullest license." -Rufus Griswold, The Criterion

The Father of Free Verse Marking a huge break from tradition and the accepted form of poetry, Whitman uses the Free Verse (no formal rhyme scheme, meter, or musical pattern) form of poetry throughout Leaves of Grass Whitman’s poetry was obviously different from the work of his contemporaries in1855 The next two slides compare a poem by Robert Browning and Whitman

“Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” by Robert Browning, 1855 VI. While some discuss if near the other graves Be room enough for this, and when a day Suits best for carrying the corpse away, With care about the banners, scarves and staves: And still the man hears all, and only craves He may not shame such tender love and stay.

“One’s-Self I Sing” by Walt Whitman, 1855 One’s-self I sing, a simple separate person, Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse. Of physiology from top to toe I sing, Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I say the Form complete is worthier far, The Female equally with the Male I sing. Of life immense in passion, pulse, and power, Cheerful, for freest action form’d under the laws divine, The Modern Man I sing.

Common Themes Transcendent power of love, brotherhood, and comradeship Imaginative projection into others’ lives Optimistic faith in democracy and equality Belief in regenerative and illustrative powers of nature, its value as a teacher (Who does this sound like…?)

“Democratic” Poetry The equal representation of all peoples in literature, men, women, white, black… Whitman’s poetry is addressed to and is about everybody He celebrates the diversity of America

Whitman’s Poetic Techniques Free verse: lack of metrical regularity and conventional rhyme Use of repeated images, symbols, phrases, and grammatical units Use of enumerations and catalogs Contrast and parallelism in paired lines

Later Life Whitman’s later life is devoted equally to his poetry and public service He publishes Leaves of Grass with added sections including ‘Drum Taps’ (which deals with his Civil War nursing experiences) and later editions include his famous odes to President Lincoln (‘O Captain My Captain’, ‘When Lilacs Last in the Doorway Bloom’d’) In his later years Whitman works for several government offices (he is denied one government job because he is the author of the "objectionable poetry collection" Leaves of Grass) and spends time as a hospital nurse caring for Civil War soldiers

Later Life He spends a lot of time taking care of his family members (he commits a brother, buries another) After suffering a paralytic stroke he ‘retires’ and spends his remaining years in Camden, New Jersey living with his brother George. The final edition of Leaves of Grass is referred to as the ‘deathbed’ edition. Whitman is buried in a mausoleum shaped like a house that he designed himself. He would often visit it during its construction.

"The great poet of America so far." -Andrew Carnegie

Free Verse Poetry - a form of poetry which refrains from which refrains from meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern Example: “I Hear America Singing” (pg 352 of your book)

Found Poetry – poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and/or lines, or by altering the text by additions and/or deletions Example…“Guns & Ammo”

Concrete Poetry – poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem Example:

Limerick – a five line poem in anapestic or amphibrachic meter with a strict rhyme scheme (aabba), which intendes to be witty or humorous, and is sometimes obscene with humorous intent Example: The limerick packs laughs anatomical In space that is quite economical, But the good ones I've seen So seldom are clean, And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

List Poetry The writer is telling you something--pointing something out--saying, "Look at this" or, "Think about this." There's a beginning and an end to it, like in a story. Each item in the list is written the same way. They rarely rhyme. And it is fun to juxtapose things that seem non-sequential: fruits and meats, nuts and dairy, big picture to little flower. List poems have a layering effect.