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Walt Whitman (31 May 1819 - 26 March 1892 / New York / United States)
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Walter "Walt" was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
Born on Long Island, Whitman worked as a journalist, a teacher, a government clerk, and – in addition to publishing his poetry – was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. Early in his career, he also produced a temperance novel, ... more »
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Popular Poems
- 1861
- A Boston Ballad, 1854
- A child said, What is the grass?
- A Child's Amaze
- A Clear Midnight
- A Farm-Picture
- A Glimpse
- A Hand-Mirror
- A Leaf For Hand In Hand
- A March In The Ranks, Hard-prest
- A Noiseless Patient Spider
- A Paumanok Picture
- A Proadway Pageant
- A Promise To California
Quotations
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Give me the splendid silent sun
with all his beams full-dazzling,
Give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard,
Give me a field where the unmow'd grass grows,
Walt Whitman (1819-1892), U.S. poet. Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun (l. 1-5). . . The Complete Poems [Walt Whitman]. Francis Murphy, ed. (1975; r...
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''Why are there trees I never walk under but large and melodious thoughts descend upon me?''
Walt Whitman (1819-1892), U.S. poet. "Song of the Open Road," sct. 7 (1856).
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(O I see what I sought to escape, confronting, reversing my cries,
Walt Whitman (1819-1892), U.S. poet. Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun (l. 18-24). . . The Complete Poems [Walt Whitman]. Francis Murphy, ed. (1975;...
I see my own soul trampling down what it ask'd for.)
Keep your splendid silent sun,
Keep your woods O Na...
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''Old age, calm, expanded, broad with the haughty breadth of the universe,
Walt Whitman (1819-1892), U.S. poet. Song of the Open Road, verse 12 (1856).
Old age flowing free with the delicious near-by freedom of death.''
The case of Whitman is a complex one. He's among my favorites, yet Kevin Straw has a point: Whitman's major weakness is long-windedness. I have no doubt that his Song of Myself could have been strengthened by a heavy editorial pen. In this regard, I prefer Dickinson because she understood the power of silence and restraint. Yet at his strongest, Whitman displays symphonic exuberance, and he's unquestionably an innovator, which is why the aforementioned weakness can be forgiven. Innovators make a lot of mistakes, and the refiners, though they might produce more polished poems, are less original (generally) . For example, Yeats is more satisfying than Whitman in that his better poems are polished and condensed, but Whitman is still more original.
Song of Myself is easily THE, American Epic, (along with Moby Dick,) that expresses what a generation felt during that period. Reading it is an exploration into both his world, and your own. It is easily of one of the poems that any avid reader of poetry should read.
O what a wordy wordless Whitman. If only he would shut up at the right moment!
I note the comments have been removed from the poems of the day, such is the respect the site creators have for their contributors.
I will always love his beauty and such truthful poetry