05. emily dickinson & walt whitman

• Emily Dickinson: ‘Because I could not stop for Death’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘I died for Beauty – but was scarce’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘A Bird came down the Walk’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘A narrow Fellow in the Grass’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘It was not Death for I stood up’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘I’m Nobody! Who are you?’
• Emily Dickinson: ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’
• Emily Dickinson:

  • born in Massachusetts in 1830
  • her family were Puritan Calvinists
  • spent much of her life in her family home
  • wrote approximately 1,800 poems (most were published after her death)
  • influenced by the Romantic and Transcendentalist movements
• Themes of Emily Dickinson's poetry:

  • death
  • madness
  • religion
  • nature
• Walt Whitman:

  • "the father of free verse"
  • most famous poetry collection is 'Leaves of Grass'
  • a Transcendentalist who wrote romantic poetry
  • heavily influenced by the Transcendentalist, realist, and romantic movements
• Walt Whitman: 'Song of Myself'
• Autobiographical similarities of Dickinson & Whitman:

  • born in the early 1800s
  • both originate from the East Coast
  • submitted some of their pieces to politically-based works
  • suspected by modern readers to be some variation of queer
  • significant impact on future generations of poets
• Literary similarities of Dickinson & Whitman:

  • innovators of poetry
  • themes: gender, political, sexual, and religious identity
  • challenging society in their works
  • confessional style
  • reflect their qualities through style, form, and language
• Autobiographical differences in Emily Dickinson:

  • born into an upper-class Calvinist family
  • lived most of her life as a hermit
  • maintained close relationships primarily through letters
  • published very few poems during her lifetime
• Autobiographical differences in Walt Whitman:

  • born into a working-class family
  • had to work throughout his life
  • he took up nursing wounded soldiers during the war
  • lived a more social life
  • actively sought fame and recognition
• Literary differences in Emily Dickinson:

  • structured and conservative
  • known for her short, compact poems
  • introspective, contemplative and private tone
  • unconventional punctuation and capitalization
  • quatrains and slant rhyme
  • almost consistent ABCB rhyme scheme
• Literary differences in Walt Whitman:

  • long and winding poems
  • free verse - no meter or strict rhyme
  • personal and revealing tone
  • themes: celebrating democracy, the human body, sexuality
  • rather optimistic, transcendental belief
• Walt Whitman: 'I Sing the Body Electric' in 'Song of Myself'
• Walt Whitman: 'I Hear America Singing'
• Emily Dickinson: 'Heart, We Will Forget Him'